@Michael Lang,For next few years, dwell outside your comfort zone.

*HOWEVER*, I believe that as an individual investor, you should be sensitive and humane in how you deal with your tenants.

Basically we are wanting to take an old building and convert it to a few apartments or townhouse/condos or even to start small and just convert to a single dwelling.  

I've found no fewer than 9 multi family dwellings that are ripe for the plucking but I'm so broke I can't afford a free phone call. by my estimates, these properties combined would net me $8,600 a month in revenue depending on mortgage payments. it is painfully frustrating to see these numbers and not have the knowledge to obtain the capitol to put them in my portfolio.

This evil bastard has a faulty moral compass and has decided to steal from the "rich" (you) and give to the "poor" (himself) by squatting on the premises under the guise of a non-existent or forged lease.Where I in your position, I'd find a FLAT RATE eviction attorney that has experience with these kinds of cases as soon as humanly possible.

It's inevitable that they will still exist because human beings make mistakes and have been making mistakes in real estate constantly since the beginning of time.

I was unnecessarily and not very clearly drawing a distinction between 1-4 unit Single Family Dwelling vs. 5+unit "multi-family" financing.  

These include, but are not limited to: residentially zoned land and house lots; three family homes; apartments and tenement houses; multi-family dwellings and housing developments; publicly assisted housing; and, single and two family residences intended for sale.All commercial space, for sale or for rent, and all land intended to be put to commercial use are covered by M.G.L. c. 151B, s. 4.(4) Property Not Covered By M.G.L. c. 151B, s. 4.

The builder's risk and vacant dwelling policies are expensive and cumbersome to get for each property individually.

So, I've noticed, investors recently built very nice duplexes and when I check the county CAD it shows A1 Fam Dwelling.