I'm specifically looking at a property on Lake Monroe.

I'm planning on buying a small multifamily first and foremost so I have a place to live and then will either buy a single family or another multi family depending on what I can find/fits my criteria at the time.

Wanted to get some thoughts from more seasoned small multifamily investors on a few items or any other suggestions:- Any specific pros/cons of any particular states in SE (TN, AL, GA, NC, SC) to consider?

I don't want to violate any of the self-promotion rules on this thread by specifically linking or name-dropping, but it's from a data analytics platform I am working on specifically built for tracking construction, debt, and ownership activity in the Philadelphia region.I will be posting more detailed insights soon. 

Quote from @Dyllon Gibbs: Hi All,Does anyone have experience with rent guarantee insurance and any specific companies?

My feedback is specific to REI vs what they marketed to me thus far (as I said 1st property with them).  

The other is a smaller operation which does a lot of business in the specific neighborhood the house is in.

You could do your work for free and it would still be too much for them because you don't do things the way they believe is right.I recommend developing owner-screening criteria to make sure you bring on the right folks and the right properties. 

If the applicant comes from the pool of people that I or my tenants know, I use real estate as a way to give back as many of my tenants will not qualify credit wise or may even have a criminal background or would struggle for another reason if I were to just stick to the "background/credit check" criteria. 

I looked at some properties in the Catskills last week that ultimately didn't fit the criteria.