Short comment here, but I’m happy to connect with you and give you some pointers from the perspective of someone who lives and invests in Buffalo.

Not just a real estate investment, but an investment into my marriage.

A super ball number to get you going would be at least $190/SF-$220/sf ish... to figure out square footage it's probably best to connect with a Chicago architect like @Samuel Pavlovcik or @Prashanth Mahakali both can talk through the zoning and plan development process.

I would love to connect

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

For now, I am leaning toward establishing an LLC to purchase and rent real estate.

A similar post 5 years ago was well received, and they were able to connect with investors interested in connecting with them on their own properties or with realtors providing connections, etc.

Hey Konstance welcome to BiggerPockets I'm fairly new as well if you ever are in need of some property maintenance services such as house washing, or driveway cleaning for your future investments I would love to connect with you. 

Hello, I am new to real estate investing.

This application automates "back of the envelope" calculations, making it easier and faster for users to find and assess profitable real estate opportunities based on their specific investment criteria.