I want to get into Rental RE Investing - Need Advice!

[Brian Dudash]

Hello! I'm new to the RE investing world and I'm seriously looking into buying SFH and/or multi-family that will end up being rented out.

Just to give some quick background about myself, I'm 26 years old and currently living in they bay area (though live most of my life in the mid west). I currently have about $115k saved up and I'm ready to start investing!

I've been watching/listening to people on Youtube, podcasts, etc where some say SFH is the best way to go, while others like multi-family or larger investments. I understand that this can and will be different person to person but I'm struggling with a few things:

• What is everyone's preference when it comes to SFH vs MF? Any personal experiences where you prefer one over the other?
• I'm looking at a few different areas in the Midwest and Southeast but I'm struggling to found out how "rentable" an area is. Like what makes one area better than the other and how can you confirm this? (Websites, RE agents, etc?)
• Since this would be my first rental property (and first property in general), is it best to put 20% down and use the rest your money to fund other RE investments or pay it off in cash and build up from there?

Any other tips or advice is appreciated!