Multi-Family Investing in Southern California

[Asya Monds]

I have been educating myself about real estate in the DMV area since 2014, however, I just relocated to Orange County, CA. I'm really interested in making multi-families my primary focus, but I had a couple of questions.

1. How does the traditional loan approval work for small multi-families. Does the mortgage and other debts need to be 40% or less of your gross income like single families or are other considerations taken into account?

2. Is Southern California a good place for multi-family investing?

I've had a few deals over the past few years that I did not go through with for various reasons and I am eager to finally bring my first deal across the finish line. Any advice would be appreciated.