If you don't have that, keep earning, saving, and managing the risk you take by investing in REITs (which is small but risk still exists).If you already have at least $100k to invest, and you're wondering where to start as an OOS investor, I recommend this dataset that we at BiggerPockets put together specifically for people like you and me.https://www.biggerpockets.com/resources/housing-market-data/...It contains information like job growth, population growth, and rent-price ratio for all markets to compare and contrast.

Leverage magnifies return. 3) The effort involved in adding an ADU is comparable or larger than a rehab associated with a BRRRR.

Have you compared the appreciating cash flow on the duplex to the potential savings on your current mortgage over 1,3, and 5 years? 

For my first house hack, it was actually pretty straight forward. 

It’s pretty straightforward with a lot of features but there is a learning curve.

You can compare both options and see which makes more sense with the rate you'd qualify for.

Additionally the suburbs have higher taxes compared to Chicago proper.  

It's important not to get too caught up in the details; use the analyzer to compare one property to another.

Compared to a mortgage broker that adds on so many fees for the same loan.

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.