There are many people who don't get started until later in life and wish they had started earlier. 

But Chicago is somewhere where we would move away, and never come back.We are also not sure if we should pay cash for the 200k, and later do a cash out refinance if we need the cash, or if we should get a mortgage for some of it initially.

Until a week later, the green start light came on again which mean if you press the start button, the machine would start right up. 

You don't want somebody to act uninterested, not get an application and later claim that you discriminated in some illegal way by treating that person differently.Also, when I first speak to potential tenants on the phone, I try to get their email addresses and offer to send them an application and the acceptance criteria.

Go with the "base hit" first, swing for the fences later on when you can afford it if you strike out instead.If you are looking for more passive type investments, notes are an option.  

Truly...I love REI now and my tenants are pretty low maintenance, but the properties I have currently are definitely properties that only other landlords would want....so I'm trying to plan accordingly and if I need to pivot a little to other type properties, I much rather do that now than later.

I stood my ground (because now I thought to myself that may be too little and an insult,by their reaction) I said yes, $17,500 no contingencies all cash.They said they will see what they will say.15 minutes later, I received a text.They accepted your offer of $17,500....Such a great feeling!

When I attempted to book another closing a month later, the title company stated that the attorneys for both sides of my deal "didn't like it", and that they would no longer accommodate my deals (I realized that failing to keep both sides separate was a huge mistake). 

I think it has more to do with the fact that people are settling down later.

We purchased the home for $84,500 and resold it just 2 days later for $105,000 to a cash buyer, and (after closing costs) walked away with a profit in the neighborhood of $11,000.