Are their listings detailed with good-quality photos?

You’ll pick up so much just by listening to people who’ve been through the highs and lows of the market.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, I highly recommend exploring the gift of equity deals and using sweat equity for renovations.

Once you narrow it down, start with small jobs to test their reliability and quality before giving them bigger projects.Building a solid network takes time, but having dependable people on call is a lifesaver for your rentals.

NAR Says - Existing home sales fall to lowest level in nearly 30 years and Median housing prices rose to a record high"The National Association of Realtors released data that showed existing home sales declined to the lowest level since 1995 last year, with 4.06 million homes sold on an annual basis.Meanwhile, the median home price median home price rose to a record high of $407,500 in 2024."

I am a complete rookie zero experience, zero properties and highly determined to get into multi-family investing.

I've now used it twice.The program requires 10% down, must be a rental, no PMI, and has a very high standard of credit.Last I did it (Summer 2022), my rate landed in the low 5%.  

Now that is a very high level example but the appreciation is not gone if that makes sense you will capture the ballpark same appreciation if the properties are comparable.  

If I was the buyer's broker, I would have checked myself to protect my client.If they had, then they would have found out it was not a three family.Its a valid point.In NM, our zoning / city doesn't post # of units publicly, only high density residential or low density. 

@Cathy Ries Yes, tax planning before acquiring rental properties is highly beneficial, especially given your situation.