.- get into real estate with a lower rate and lesser percentage down payment.

I still think this might work, but I will need to look at it from a few different angles.I like the idea of mobile homes because it's a lower cost way to get started.

for some of us "regular folks", a tidbit of info here to lower the appetite if you are not in that class of investments:"Regulation D, Rule 506(c)" refers to a specific exemption under the U.S.

If you are in a lower asset class things can go the other way. 

Expanding to nearby areas with lower costs and strong rental demand can also make sense.

You can get some insurance on unpermitted units, a lower coverage amount than for a permitted unit and will have difficulty rebuilding it as a permitted unit at the covered amount (which makes sense because its value is less than a permitted unit).  

Sometimes too portfolios allow you to include lower valued properties that might not be eligible for regular DSCR lending. 

query=garage#sear...If you can rent a 2 garage at $450 without spending ~$150k for a garage ADU conversion, no work/risk of the ADU conversion, the lower maintenance/capex, easier eviction, no rent control, less tenant interaction, it will not convert your SFR to rent control, etc, it seems superior to the garage ADU conversion.  

It’s also a much lower priced house than the couple I have now and I can afford to hold this and pay the mortgage with no occupancy. 

Quote from @Jaycee Greene: it all depends on the credit scores, but consumer mortgages tend to have lower interest rates than commercial loans.