24 y/o looking into first multi-family investment

[Daniel Royer]

Hi Bigger Pockets community!

I am looking into potentially investing into additional real estate, and specifically noted the favorable numbers for multi-family properties. My favorites are multi-family properties that have retail/offices underneath (like food places etc) but these tend to be grade B or A buildings so fairly expensive $/sq ft. I mainly realized owning the whole property is more advantageous since condos etc by the unit end up with HOA fees as high as the mortgage at least where I was looking, to pay salaries etc I guess.

I would like to ideally get a place warm like near the coast in Florida if possible (either Tampa or Miami area), since I likely am going to pursue an remote engineering career and would likely live in one of the units and Air BnB that same unit when not occupied by me during travels etc. Also my girlfriend from college also lives/works in Tampa currently and has family in South Florida so would be able to stay with me too instead of renting a luxury apartment for $1500/month like she does currently, or have a place to stay when visiting home, depending on where the property was. Something like this is amazing (besides the price): https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/2001-Biscayne-Blvd-Miami-FL/14506620/. Annual rental income is approximately 10% of its price with a 100% occupancy and 90 parking spot garage.

My sister also may be interested in real estate investing in some point, especially if I end up with success in it. However it could be tricky co-investing if something went south with the investment with it potentially affecting our relationship (however its pretty strong, especially could tell when we worked through the home ownership agreement two years ago which had quite some tension).

In terms of capital we have alot liquid in the stock market to leverage as down payments, about $400k owned by me and $300k under my sister due to inheritance. I also own ~$160k in cryptocurrency and mining computers won't ever sell but could get a 4:1 backed loan from a Block.com or similar at a 4-5% interest rate (aka ~$40k) and have about $50k in my checking account too and own $10k of vehicles I plan to sell this fall too. I also have pending approval for a $300k equity line of credit against my house. I doubt this is enough to pair with borrowing to buy an eight figure property investment but maybe I am wrong? 

I currently own a SFH (single family home) I inherited two years ago with $190k owed on mortgage+equity line, currently pay $825 and $235 on those loans monthly. My realtor says now after renovations it could be worth $600-650k now in the current market. I bought out my sister's ownership and renovated the whole property heavily while renting it out by the room averaging $400-$2000/month depending on occupancy rate (later stopped 'multi-family' rental model since against HOA rules and got caught by our president when the number of tenants got out of hand + visitors on weekends etc). Place is huge, 6000 sq-ft with a 1200 sq-ft three bay garage. Whole 3000 sq-ft top floor is on the market now for $2700/month with renovations finished, and one occupant/property manager in the separate exit basement floor still for $400/month (may not be able to continue this once top floor occupied):
http://triangle.paragonrels.com/CollabLink/?id=0cc31385-2faa-44a8-b470-f782db341e06

I dumped probably over $80k and 18 months of my time into that house above doing almost all the work DIY myself (and learned a *LOT* and had many expectations re-evaluated), which is not a great real estate investment based on returns but I wanted to not cut any corners on renovating since I am very attached to it (its my birth home and my dad and grandfather designed it together when building it in 1993). My mom also lives 5 minutes down the road, she moved there after they separated and I have my room there still to stay if I need to. 

Let me know what you guys think. Maybe I can network and find others interested in mult-family properties, and potentially learn how co-investing works too. Or get general input. I just would rather have my money in properties over stocks in this next market crash haha, more fun and usefuly in my opinion

Cheers,

Daniel