The masterplan, seeking advice

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Hi ladies and gentlemen,

I am here requesting some advice from you all to help me finalize this so-called "master plan" I have. So this sort master plan I have is to get started in real estate investing within a year, and for those of you who seen my intro post, I do have some knowledge on the subject and this is the plan I’ve pieced together.

First is to get find a good deal on a multifamily residential, get financing, and move in. For the multifamily house, it will either be duplex, triplex, or fourplex (I prefer the latter to minimize the risk of high vacancy rates). I seek to accomplish this is by being an owner-occupant, and hopefully achieving an FHA loan for little money down, as I am not starting with a huge bankroll.

Next is to ‘househack’ for a few years,

Then either sell and upgrade to either a small multifamily apartment building or keep the property’s cashflow (hopefully there is some, my market is tough - but doable with the right deal) and invest in another residential multifamily with other money.

A few questions and concerns I have though are as follows:

• 1. I live on Long Island and needless to say, the prices for homes are incredibly high. This in turn negatively impacts the cap rates, which are (from what I’ve seen) pretty low. My question is, do I keep my master plan or invest out of state (which can be tougher and I am sure will be) where I will be able to purchase homes for a lot cheaper than here in New York and get a better cap rate?
• 2. Besides the obvious statistics, what do you all look for when investing in NEW (to the investor) neighborhoods? Crime rate, median renter age, etc?

Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking time to help a future investor out, I’ll be sure to return the favor here on BP!

Best

Gino.