I am the first in my family to pursue this journey and so far i've been doing the studying and learning alone. 

Hi @Benjamin CohenBill is right that if you are looking for someone who you can sit down with in person in your area, your best bet is talking to other investors in Chicago to see who they use. 

I am still at the point in my journey where I want to do most of the maintenance myself and therefore having our two investments juxtaposed is very appealing. 

I am in London, Ontario.It sounds like Kijiji is the best bet from the comments so far.One follow up question I have is around timing.

So I'm just beginning this real estate investing journey.

This article from Philly.com (http://www.philly.com/news/minneapolis-single-fami...) outlines how Minneapolis has started the journey to stop single family zoning in favor of multi. 

If you do that you will be able to find someone who will be willing to help you on your journey.

New Real Estate Investor searching for knowledgeable partner so that I can provide capital and hustle while I begin my real estate journey.

It's been an exciting journey, and though I am a little nervous about it, I'm also enjoying the ride.So, just saying 'hello'!

If you only got 42 credit hours to get an engineering degree that's a solid bet.