Regarding the house hacking purchase, are they looking to stay local? 

If you are busy and it’s worth it for you, you can look into property management companies that can take over everything for you including the bookkeeping. 

Some of the things I'd like it to do/keep track of:-Track purchase price, details of any loans, and current equity in the property as well as total portfolio equity-Track current and past rents for properties-Track total ROI for individual properties, as well as entire portfolio-Track expenses, be able to upload receipts, bills, etc-Track Debt service pay down, appreciation estimates, etcNOT looking for management software like Buildium, Doorloop, Appfolio, etc   Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I live in a very rural area in the northeast and most of the markets within an hour of me are primarily class C and D neighborhoods with reputations for drug and crime problems (as well as my own hometown unfortunately) so I will probably look to long-distance investing as I get started.

Verifying last 2 years of rental history and income extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect.PM us if you’d like to discuss this logical approach in greater detail!

My team has been in a court case on this issue and I don't want to speak too much before the case is complete, but it's looking good for us. 

We know that a dual fuel system would be more optimal, but the cost of running a gas line and venting is likely higher than adding another circuit for the heat strip.Furthermore, we are looking for recommendations for an HVAC installer in Chicago.

We charge our owners $50/hr and the toilet install would look like this:1hr to drive to and from HD, 1 hour to remove the toilet, 1 hr to install the toilet, $100 - $150 for materials = $250 - $300.

I would use the standard realtor lease form in your area and then look up common extra conditions landlords are using now.

I’m looking for guidance on progressing my real estate investment journey and would appreciate any advice from experienced investors.