@Brad Haughton Opening a separate account with a different branch or bank for the purpose of your real estate investment is not a bad idea.Moreso, if you are not great with numbers , math, accounting, you should consider partnering with someone that's strong in that area while you focus on your area of expertise/strength. 

In MN, you would be looking at a long term average of 4%, which in simple non-compounding math is 12K/year.So how does this look in real-life terms? 

Do your homework in 1031 exchanges.  

By math, it seems that the higher discount rate and lower interest always save more money (pretty short breakeven time according to the calculator).So does it make sense to max out discount rate so total closing not exceeding 2% of sale price as long as we have enough cash?

@Andy Nathan currently looking at multi-families in Humboldt Park.I’m also a new investor so I’d like to spend some free time doing some homework and research different neighborhoods and surrounding cities.

Meanwhile I would recommend to learn the math and analyze a ton of real estate.  

It will help you throughout your career. )- Learn the math behind the investment properties and the market you want to invest in. ( Book I can recommend. " What every real estate investor need to know about cash flow ... and other 36 key financial measure " ) - Learn to analyze properties ( used the knowledge you gained, build an excell spreedsheet and analyze ton of homes.

Now they will be expensive ones, but there's nothing like making the same mistake over and over to reinforce the rationalization that emotions will always help you make better decisions than logic and math...when it comes to real estate investing that is.There is a cheaper way to learn though.

@Jimmy Lieu, to add to Christopher's response, your math is correct. 

I meet many realtor who don't understand the math behind real estate and the math is what you will rely on.