I like that your goals are realistic and not insane like some new investors.

I’m looking to access some of the equity in the home to buy out my ex-partner, and my goal is to either convert the house into a multifamily property or add a dwelling unit (ADU).I’d love to hear any advice from the community on the best way to approach this, particularly in terms of financing options, legal considerations, or any similar projects you've completed.

You get some of the strongest rent demand in the Phoenix area being closer to downtown, and then you position yourself for the upside of the growing North Phoenix economy with TSMC and other economic developments.If you want more info, I can send you the 3-5 most recent properties my clients have purchased in the last month for you to review.

Lastly, the price point is still very cheap here in the sense that you can still find investment deals that hit the 1% rule for 120-180k!

Based on an inspection report on one of the deals I worked on last year, I was able to negotiate over $15k of credits and repairs for a $200k house using a $400 inspection report for one of my clients.

The last one I dealt with for the past two weeks, is a large corporate cash buyer that just admitted that they need 90-180 days to close on a deal!

The goal is to ensure that the property remains viable even if circumstances change, like dealing with a non-paying tenant or a market downturn.

It’s a great way to grow faster.HELOC or Equity Tapping: If you have equity in another property, using a HELOC or cash-out refinance could help cover the down payment without affecting your DTI as much.Seller Financing or Creative Deals: Look for sellers willing to finance directly, which bypasses traditional mortgage qualification hurdles.Scaling quickly often involves combining strategies—play around with what works best for your goals.

If you do have to move because of a job, you would be safest (in my opinion, i am not giving legal advice or financial advice), i would sell that property to ensure that you did not just purchase with the goal of moving out early and taking advantage of lower rates and lower down payments for purchasing your home as a primary residence. 

This is something that I have really come to realize over the last couple of months as I've been learning.I came into this expecting it to be complicated, and I am not disappointed!