So here are the questions- The home is a legal two family with 4 units I was planning on renting the first floor duplexed with the basement for 1600 second floor for 1500 and live in the top floor apartment for "free" for 1-2 years would this on paper look like a decent deal- I have no idea what water, electricity and sewage runs on a two family home - Where can I look to see if I could actually obtain those rents for that property ( got these numbers using rento meter) Thank you all very much !

Mark it up 100% (yes, double) and sell it.You will make a ton of mistakes on the phone, with paper work and all the other details associated with the deal.

On paper these are better investments...but in REALITY they are not.

But that is way beyond my scope of knowledge of GEEKY stuff.I am sure I can do the pen and paper thing and run to staples with a few pads to TEST a series of messages.Please ad more info if you have any,

So I want to lay out my plan so far to see what you all think of it so far.

The beauty of notes vs. hard real estate is that you don't own the property (and all that hassles that come along with it - tenants, maintenance, townships, etc.) you just own the secured paper behind it.So in that regard, having boots on the ground in some form or another when performing due diligence is important whether it's a Realtor, BPO agent, and/or contractor assessing the property.

It has been a hassle to have paper leases for every customer and get them to fill in all the information.

I could see if rates go back up to the 7-8% range that all these 3-4% loans will have a lot of value and we start trying to buy them for the increased cash flow (I'm assuming the current rate is low), but right now there's not a lot of advantage to a sub2 for rental.A lot depends on area and your overall strategy and your resources, but I dont see much of a deal here if you are buying this thing for $108k and it needs $50-$60k and you have to lay out $48k to pay off the HELOC and pay the $50-60k for the rehab. 

Home has harwood floors which are in good condition and are currently covered with roofing paper to protect them.

Chicagoland market is really though and most of the deals are done cash with no paper trail.On the other hand though I would like to ask them some standard questions that would tell me right away if the guy is right for the job or not. appreciate any help !