However, I do worry about the dynamics of having several unrelated individuals under one roof, managing different lifestyles, potential conflicts, and turnover can be challenging.

Building long term partnerships and not a one time deal.

I emailed one of the mortgage reps that I've worked with before there as well.

I just had a tenant that tried to rent one of my houses and YTD income in September was bigger that YTD income in December.

design one for yourself. think about your market. like in columbus we have infill lots at 30x120 and so we developed and designed a house for ourselves. we build the same house and continue to Make modifications. it's the only new build we offer to build for clients. that's just my opinion. architects we didn't even use we looked at national builder Floorplans and decided. our typical lot is 3000-4000 square feet that we build on 

I would like to purchase a three or four Plex and live in one of the units.I understand I can use an FHA loan or conventional loan with only 3 to 5% down in order to get into the property however I live in a very expensive area and the properties I am looking at are currently 700+. 

I am wary of the ones that don’t require an appraisal.

Are security deposits needed in addition to damage waiver, or do you pick one or the other?  

My daughter attends Emory University and will live in one unit while I rent out the others.I’d love any neighborhood recommendations (in addition to Decatur) that are still conveniently accessible to Emory by foot, bike, or public transportation.

One additional consideration is that we're in the 35% tax bracket, so if we go with the 30yr option, we could take advantage of the tax savings (~$100 - $250 per month for the next 5-8 years depending on how quickly IRS will increase the standard deduction limits).