On the next stay the new guest told me they saw a mouse in the kitchen. 

The basement is about 800 sq ft with everything we need and separates us from the main floor (kitchen and living rooms) and 4 bedrooms upstairs.

Too many cooks in the kitchen gets messy and most owners aren't familiar with landlord-tenant laws, Fair Housing laws, etc. which can cause problems.

Another issue that can be problematic and costly, are changes to floor plans that have been made to a home over decades, especially "conversions" where a large home is cut up into 3, 4 or more separate units, with kitchens and baths added for each, and often fireplaces blocked off or removed.

We plan to mainly focus on the kitchen and bathroom right now and do additional work down the road as the listing starts to stabilize. 

I am condo home owner (my second personal residence purchase) here in Chicago that has been dreaming/obsessing over beginning my journey into full time real estate investment.

Take things one step at a time, RE is not a get rich quick scheme for 99.9% of people, and is an asset class that rewards patient and persistent individuals with a desire to always keep learning.

I will have all new plumbing installed, roof, kitchens, bathrooms, create laundry rooms for every unit, and cosmetically enhance the place both inside and out.

Purchase price: $270,000 Cash invested: $60,000 2nds property is a fixer upper which will require new flooring, paint, teardown of bathrooms upstairs and kitchen due to water damage as well as roof and siding down the line.

The basement is about 800 sq ft with everything we need and separates us from the main floor (kitchen and living rooms) and 4 bedrooms upstairs.