Deciding where to focus - multifamily or single family rentals?

[James Rodgers]

Hi everyone, 

This is my introductory discussion. I am excited and thankful to have found the arena that BP appears to be. I am a married, 27-year-old father of 2 little girls, living in Birmingham, AL. I currently work as an engineer but have recently nailed down an end goal of our family living off of income from rental properties. The purpose behind this is to spend tons of time with my kids, and also freedom to spend my time serving the poor. So, that's me in a nutshell.

Long term I would like to own apartment complexes, but in the coming years I see myself focusing on buy and hold residential properties with a lot of value-add opportunity (I believe Birmingham is rich in these). 

Here is my question: I am hearing that being extremely focused is really helpful. Is it ok to search for great deals among multifamily and single family properties and act upon whichever I find, possibly buying both types over the years? Or am I going to benefit most from making a decision between the two and spending all of my time only on one type?

Thanks so much!

James