In addition, has anyone cleared the biggerpockets lease agreement, found in the book bonus, with an attorney for use in the chicagoland area?

Their employees tend to get bonuses based on what plan you buy.

I look for appreciation (as a bonus), cash flow, and market rents.

If you do, it will be a bonus.

An added bonus is that this home is in a county only area, so I pay about 1/2 in taxes when compared to an area that is City & County taxes.The other advantage to brand new homes as a rental is that the tenants love the idea of living in a brand new home!

In my mind, doing the work yourself is a bonus cause it saves you pocket money, but unless you can knock it out really quickly, its not worth the hassle from a time value of money perspective. 

Bonus question: What is your biggest pain point right now?

Right now it looks good and livable just needs some updates in the full bath (vent, updated sink, minor cosmetic updates in kitchen + new fridge.  3rd floor (they are calling it a bonus room) is good for storage or could be closed off.  

Their economy of scale gets them head-of-line privileges with the essential contractors in the area.A bonus to this arrangement popped this March with the VRBO booking fees. 

That would be a nice bonus but not something that should appear in your calculations.