MUST KNOWs Hacking Multifamily - 1st time investor in NY/NJ area

[Redi Yib]

Hi all - This community keeps on giving and I'm so grateful for you all! I've been reading a lot about multifamily investment (up to 4 units) during these past two weeks and I'm inspired to take it more seriously. I currently rent in NYC and I'd like to buy my first property where I can live (hopefully within 1 hour drive distance) and also generate rental cash flow. I've started to use the BP rental property calculator so I can be better at analyzing deals, but in the meantime I want to learn from the experts here so for those who focus on MFU, I've some questions: 

1. Where do you find your deals? 

2. What numbers do you need to truly evaluate whether to purchase or pass?

3. What are the things you wish you knew now when you started investing in MFU?

and last but not least, do you have any suggestions of people I can connect with or resources I can review while I'm in this research phase?

Truly grateful for your response and guidance!