You do still have to know the right areas to invest in and who to trust for that info. 

Real estate investing has been a passion of mine for time with my mother also having invested early on where I likely have gotten the love and desire to follow similar foot steps.I have taken last 6 months to educate myself and currently own a single family home as primary residence and would like to expand to multi family properties (2-4 units) for additional stream of income, not to mention potential tax benefits for long-term investing.Based on current living situation, I have a fair amount of equity established in my primary residency along with having enough cash to either pay off house completely or use towards investing in a multi family property.Given that I'm the sole source of income for our household with my wife being the home maker for our two kids under 2, trying to weigh out risks with getting started now or perhaps waiting. 

Similar to the comments above on using FurnishedFinder, also check Airbnb and sort for 30+ day rental options. in addition, I'd recommend talking to the local university and hospitals nearby by calling to their various departments.

Do you have additional capital to add?

Additionally, make sure you’re familiar with local property laws and any regulations that could impact your investment.I agree with @Jason Wray that you can easily find a cash flowing deal under 200k. 

New occupants will be coming soon, but in a 3 family, i have set of excellent student tenants that renewed.That said, many landlord insurance policies have exclusions for students, so I am trying to gather info on updating a policy to consider the fact that the building is only going to be 33% student occupied.  

MarketFinder: Helps you identify potential markets across the US that fit your criteria for investing and shows you this info below plus more based on zipcode, here's an example for a zip in Denver. https://www.biggerpockets.com/marketsDealFinder: Once you find a market you can dig into specific homes on the market at  https://www.biggerpockets.com/deals

@Colleen F. unfortunately, AFAIK, there is no other resource than go to small claims court and go after her, which will take me $2-3K in additional legal fees.

Would love to share info as we get it.

In addition to checking into a conventional loan you can look into creative financing.