The owner wished to stay as an active participant and there was concern over the control.

I would love to participate in any real estate meetup group in Chicago.

I'd prefer to keep my investing local-ish, but my surrounding areas seem pretty stripped bare, at least to my VERY inexperienced eye.

If you and your father still want to pool resources to invest in rental property, then go ahead without your mom's participation.

Thanks for coming to the community and participating.

I have been reading through the Beginners guide and have made it through 2 chapters, 15 related articles with comments, so far and am just blown away by the content here.Through reading the posts, it became apparent that I needed to start participating, and this is the polite way to make the start.

But I look forward to participating more on the site and getting to know other people on the site.

@Scott French ,That would depend upon your income and if you actively participate in the activity.

Too expensive, IMHO:Price: $230,000Rent: $2,700Rehab: $0Down %: 0%Rate: 8.00%Term: 30Down Pmt: $0Total cash: $0Loan: $230,000Payment: $1,687.66Expense %: 50%Expense Amt: $1,350NOI: $1,350.00Cash flow, monthly: ($337.66)Cash flow, annual: ($4,051.90)CAP rate 7.04%Even if you manage it yourself for free (avoid about 14% of gross rents to a PM), its barely break even:Price: $230,000Rent: $2,700Rehab: $0Down %: 0%Rate: 8.00%Term: 30Down Pmt: $0Total cash: $0Loan: $230,000Payment: $1,687.66Expense %: 36%Expense Amt: $972NOI: $1,728.00Cash flow, monthly: $40.34Cash flow, annual: $484.10CAP rate 9.02%I guess it would be OK if you accept that you're not getting any money back (though you've put none in) and you're contributing your labor in exchange for the principle paydown from the tenants.

Have fun, ask questions, participate, that's the key!