Financing Personal + Rental Properties with Large Down Payments

[Jason Gass]

I am moving my family across the country to the Portland, ME area. After the sale of a business and our current house in WA state, we will have about $200k to put down on a personal residence in Maine. Once back in Maine, the goal is to begin purchasing small multi-family residences in order to hold and draw monthly cash flow. 

My question is this: is it wise to put the full $200k into the initial purchase of our personal residence, which would allow us to qualify for a house that better fits our needs since only my wife has a guaranteed job at the moment, and then, after a year, pull that equity out to invest in a multi-unit? 

Essentially, I'm interested in creative ways to qualify for rental-unit financing without having a W2 for the past five years (owned my own business). Thank you for any advice.