I would be leery investing in a cash negative property with the only profit source being appreciation.Good luck

Do that, make some profit and then buy the 9 unit. 

My family was an investor in a Corporate Housing designated complex and it turned out to be very profitable.

Quote from @Yemisi Dinkins: As a property owner, I would never sign a Master Lease because I would give up control of the property so someone else could profit from it.

At first, you won't be able to offset your W2 income with losses, but it is nice when you sell a property at a profit and all the capital gains are wiped out by losses from other properties.A huge amount of tax savings get unlocked if one of you leaves your W2 job to focus on real estate and you get Real Estate Professional Status (REPS). 

It's all about balancing immediate profit versus long-term wealth-building potential.  

It's OK but super skinny and a lot of work doing a rehab loan for $23k profit if everything goes perfect.

That's fine, i mean the profit and losses I've seen are pretty legit breakdowns.

But keep on thinking and evaluating, as there are niches out there where someone can develop a profitable business over time.Good luck  

And we add the cost of the W/D into the rent, so any units that make it a little more than 1.5 years are profit.