However I read books about real estate and thought that when I come to the USA, I'll start building my real estate portfolio, so here I am.I read several real estate books in the past, but now started to explore more while I'm in the USA.

Hey Everyone, I am working on a meetup and a place to talk about REI.

I started out using property managers but was very dissatisfied with the services.

Find one that meets your needs as far as flexible pricing, no high volume minimums if you're just starting out.

Should I focus on paying that off first before I invest or does it make sense to start my real estate journey and use the cash flow to help pay it off faster?

Hey @Henry Lazerow - I would tend to agree that most of the NW side of Chicago 2-4 units don't play out perfectly well for BRRRR deals.I always looked at any potential house hack vs. having to rent - if my overall payments were less than the rent I generally considered that a win.For me...the house hack is just the ticket into the amusement park and then the fun rides come after...getting started can be overwhelming and hard so I can see why people might take a discount.I think one of the keys to strong equity creation is square footage creation which is basically what you outlined with duplexing up or down.

I started my journey in a small town in Nebraska, flipping houses and learning the ropes through hands-on experience.

I moved from Portland OR to Columbus OH to start house hacking.

Is pasadena tx a good place to own rentals for the long term?

Google zombie mortgages.Note if a loan is charged off the loan can no longer accrue interest unless the lender starts issuing statements again