I want to get into the game, but I'm highly risk averse and afraid of biting off too more than I can chew for a first deal.

You might have to chew into your profit just to move the deal.How long did you give yourself to keep the property under contract?  

I may have bittem more than I can chew. 

When humans are working long days, the lonely dogs will chew on the woodwork.

No matter how much of an idealist or a true believer you are these neighborhoods would chew you up.I am married but have no kids so I can find deals in safe cities but not great schools and it doesn't much matter to us,

A contractor can help you with that, but make sure you are not biting off more than you can chew - it sounds like a project for a seasoned rehabber.Alright, so how can it be done?

Am I biting off more than I can chew?

I've been looking at small multifamily  (3-4 units) online for a while now with the intention of house hacking,  I've read as much of the free educational materials I can.  I've even ran the numbers on some deals and ...

I did a lot of the work myself, and probably bit off more than I should have chewed :) 

I've been poking around on here off and on for awhile, not too seriously, but have decided it's time to dig in and take advantage of this cool resource on BP.4 years ago my wife and I bit off way more than we could chew with our first "handyman special" home, a 1940s 1400 sqft 3br 2ba on 3.5 acres with decades of deferred maintenance and shoddy DIY.