Owner occupied or multi-family as a next purchase?

[Erica Moore]

I'm new to BP and to REI as well. Currently own 2 single family homes, both purchased owner occupied - living in one and renting out the other. These were purchased before i decided to get more serious about real estate and happened to work out so far, but I don't want to go into my next purchase as blindly.

I'm getting ready for more investments and can't decide if I should make the next one another owner occupied single family home or a multi-family home? I'm not willing to move into a duplex, etc. although I know that would be ideal! Any advice on which route I should go or pros/cons to each? Also open any advice on how much $ I should have saved for each property in case anything goes wrong; should I hold off on purchasing altogether?