@Neil Wei, I am also a MF investor in Providence - it's important to note @Luan Oliveira makes great points.
The homestead exemption varies by area of Providence. East Providence might not be the same as North Providence's discount.
I strongly suggest driving around and visiting homes, there are street by street differences that make the class or type of tenant provide a higher estimated cashflow. For example near a hospital or near college campuses.
I will also give a different opinion to Luan's - finding a home that looks like it has few repairs (for low CapEx), or newly renovated, is very challenging with traditional sources online. The premium you pay for a "turnkey" property + the repairs the current owner likely didn't do, that you have to pay for, is a riskier play than the more fixer upper that can you strike a deal for. Some big CapEx amounts that can add value are subsidized by Rhode Island, so you double dip in that you get a discount and might get a higher appraisal (or sale price) later.
To find those more fixer upper homes in a C or B neighborhood, I recommend going offline (e.g. something like Propstream) or door to door. 9 out of 10 MF properties I see on Zillow et. al in the greater providence area don't cash flow enough to be valuable as a investment without overly optimistic assumptions. But 2 or 3 of those 10 can work if your goal is to live for free and in the long term refinance.
