Chicago is an expensive & competitive market and I'm not too familiar with it.  

If you were in California buyers would be willing to pay well above 70% because there is just so much competition among the buyers. 

Plus, my Oklahoma real estate agent tells me that rentals are more feasible than flips due to the competitive market we're working with and my relative lack of experience as a first-time investor, especially as one out-of-state.

It's a struggle to stay in the game over the long haul when so much of your success is based on how badly your competition competes with you rather than on how much smarter you are.  

The way market is so competitive right now and there are multiple bids on any decent property, I would also recommend other investors to stay away from real estate and this way there is less competition. 

This is a very competitive price as it is so much more than just a panel.  

This will give you a huge leg up on the competition.

Make sure you do a proper competitive market analysis.

Your competition will consist of fix and flip investors, buy and hold investors, and owner occupants such as yourself.

Yet, there are a lot of different reasons why Jacksonville is still a top global real estate investment destination.