There are not a ton of triplex or 4 plex properties available but the best one is a 6 unit, 3 building property at 1.9m in Steilacoom.

Build a team of professionals, prepare your finances, and carefully select a property near high-demand areas like hospitals or corporate hubs.

Get your basic estate docs in place before building a complex entity structure.  

I have been a Building Contractor for over 30yrs.

It always comes down to understanding the seller(s), building rapport, and then coming to a win-win solution - we do a lot of creative deals, on & off market and each is always unique. 

On a positive note we did build a new house to the specifications of a specific tenant. 

HighLevel - plenty of build outs for LOs or brokers.

I was fortunate enough to inherit a 21 unit multi family building.

If you'd ask this question while still employed I'd say apply the $8500 toward knocking down the debt quicker but since that is not the case I would build up your reserves to about 6 months then begin applying those funds to bring down the debt. 

I've seen estimates of $200 to $400 per square foot for SoCal with $700 sq ft for something higher end and building up a hill and but possibly higher for San Francisco Bay Area (lhigher labor costs, etc.).