I think what I am lacking is a solid plan

[Angela Jossy]

Step one was raising my credit score. I have done that. Step two was reliable income and learning about property management. I have been managing a 49 unit apartment building for almost two years now. During all of this time I have been reading books and listening to Bigger Pockets podcasts. Recently I have been looking into ways to come up with a downpayment. I only have 5k in my Roth IRA 401k. I make slightly too much for downpayment assistance and even if I did qualify, they stipulate that you cannot use any portion of the property as a rental - not even Airbnb. Speaking of Airbnb, a friend alerted me to a company in nearby Seattle who will pay the downpayment for you if you live in the home and rent out one of the rooms as an airbnb for at least 3 years and give them 2/3 of the income from it. You have to buy in Seattle proper though. I'm in Tacoma and I don't want to commute to work because the traffic makes that a 2 hour ordeal each direction. They said they are looking to expand to Tacoma in the next 6 months. If they do then I would like to buy a 4plex and airbnb one unit, rent two and live in one - if I can find the right four plex at the right price and the numbers all work ...

Other ideas I've considered doing to get the down payment include doing a couple of wholesale deals, finding a partner, finding a 1% down deal, finding a seller who is willing to finance or do a "Subject to" deal, or waiting a couple more years until I can save up more money ... also waiting for the market to come down to more reasonable prices ... 

I wish I knew which plan was the right one so I could just commit to it and work in that direction. Any advice?