How should I start investing in commercial multi-families?

[Ray Li]

I sold my personal residence in California last year, and I'm looking for the best way to invest the money. I have two other residential investment properties, and I'm thinking about investing in commercial multi-family (5+ unit) properties out of state at this point. I'm not sure what's the best approach for me though.

I currently have about ~1.1 million of net worth, with about $750k of liquid assets. The way I see it I have the following options.

1. Purchase a small apartment complex (5-10 units). I should have enough cash, and I can maybe get some private loans if necessary. This way I won't have to worry about commercial loans, and I can get a few years of commercial property experience when I buy my next property. 
2. Purchase a 15-20 unit property, around 1 to 1.5 million. I've talked to a few DUS lenders, and they said that if the property is good enough, I should be able to get a Fannie Mae commercial loan, given my financial situation, even if I never had a loan before. Even if I put down a 25% down payment, I would still have 30-40% liquidity in terms of my total net worth, which should be pretty strong.
3. Find a local high net worth (or at least around the same as me) local partner, familiar with the area who also has some experience with small apartment complexes and commercial loan. We would split the initial capital 50-50%, and split the equity structure 40-60% (with me being 40%, since I don't have that much experience). Is this a fair structure? This way we can aim for a 40-50 unit property around 2-3 million purchase price.

Let me know what you guys think. Which approach makes the most sense for somebody in my financial situation?

Thanks,

Ray