Getting started in real estate in Central, IL

[Bryce Fortner]

Hello all, I have been digging pretty deep into the FI community for a little over 2 years and have made some good progress with that saving a lot of money and reading numerous books.  I have been listening to the Bigger Pockets money podcast for over a year and have been interested in real estate investing for a while.  Recently I have decided to start putting more priority on this idea as I would like to diversify more from the stock market and develop more income streams.  I have started listening to the Bigger Pockets podcast from the beginning, I have read Set for Life, and am going to start on Brandon Turner's books soon.  I built my previous house, have helped people in my family build and remodel houses, and have a decent amount of construction experience.  My grandfather had 5 rental houses at one point that I helped rehab, but unfortunately he passed away before I was able to pick his brain.  I am more interested in buy and hold rentals than flips with a goal of getting to 5-10 units in the next few years that each cash flow, but I am not afraid of having to rehab these properties some before renting them out.

 I was just wondering if there is anyone around here that has experience in the Springfield, Decatur, Champaign markets?  Are there any clubs or meet ups for investors in these areas?  I know the best way to learn is to find a deal and get started, but it would be nice to have some local folks who know the market to bounce ideas off of.

Thanks