You only need to put 3.5% down, so cashwise it won't get in the way of other real estate goals you may have.My first deal was a 4-unit up I bought with FHA 3.5% in Santa Clarita.I lived for free (as opposed to paying rent) + enjoyed cash flow + built equity.

@Pat McCandless We have a solid infrastructure in place to deal with the tenants and the unique kinds of maintenance issues that come up with a multi family house as opposed to a single family so we do not find them any more difficult than a single family. 

It's possible to compensate for on taxes (not economically, though), but it requires a tax professional.Additional complications will arise if the sale was reported by your tittle company 100% under one of your SSNs, as opposed to 50/50.

Other firms tracking rent trends have consistently ranked Sacramento's rent increases at or near the highest in the U.S. in the last couple years, citing a combination of limited housing supply, rising incomes form Bay Area transplants and a surge of apartment property investments as reasons for the surge.Region Business, an advocacy group for local economic development, issued a statement Thursday opposing the potential measure.

@John T.Looks like your father's position is that of a private lender or passive investor, as opposed to a partner.Even though he is your father, you really should define economic rules between the two of you. 

@Matthew Ward Any upgrading or remodeling would need to be capitalized and depreciated unless it's small enough to fall under the de minimis safe harbor rules but you'd need to talk to your CPA about that election.Generally a large part of remodeling costs would be considered tangible personal property that could be depreciated over 5, 7 or 15 years as opposed to the long life depreciation schedule of 27.5 years for residential rental property or 39 years for commercial property. 

Hi Larry, all good options to consider and some of them I may use if I don't get cooperation from the opposing party.

From my understanding if I purchase in my personal name, I can get a residential loan as opposed to commercial. 

I'm initially pursuing my RE career, but I'm not opposed to investing.

The only reason I say LLC is because current biz is an S corp but not opposed to starting an LLC just to accomplish my goal easier.