I personally believe single family produces the best rents and appreciation.

Investment Info:Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Valdosta.

We lost about $100,000, which we had borrowed from family.

Ensure you are buying in an area you want and can see your family living in.

Frank, For a rookie investor with low capital looking to build a rental portfolio, the best strategy is house hacking: buy a small multi-family home with a low down payment (FHA or conventional loan), live in one unit, and rent the others to cover your mortgage.

However, here are a few strategies to explore:Local Real Estate Investor Networks – Join local REI groups, meetups, or Facebook groups where private lenders may be open to funding primary residences under the right terms.Seller Financing – If the seller is open to it, you could negotiate a seller-financed deal where they act as the lender.Community Banks & Credit Unions – Smaller local banks may offer portfolio loans with flexible terms.Wealthy Individuals / Family Offices – High-net-worth individuals sometimes fund private deals, especially if they see strong equity and repayment potential.IRA or Self-Directed Retirement Accounts – Some investors lend money from their self-directed IRAs for real estate transactions.Since you’re willing to pay higher interest for a short-term solution, a contract for deed (land contract) might also be an option, where the seller keeps the title until you pay it off or refinance.Would you like me to connect you with any potential private lenders?

diversification and cash flowSan Jose, CA has been very appreciation heavy... and i'm not opposed to keeping some property here, though the multi-family / commercial real estate has very low cap rates, and low growth from what i'm seeing.

My idea is to 1031 the SoCal property into the in-laws farm and rent back to them for a minimum of two years, and then decide if we keep renting it to my in-laws, or move my family into it.

To OP, it's not as scary as you think it is, this will be your first home purchase, you can purchase a multi family or SFR and house hack.

Converting properties to multi-family is considered extensive rehab and those programs are a little more exclusive than the standard bridge loan programs.