We’ve also found that at least one of the authorities (Jefferson county) started to run some kind of property specific rental comps which can also affect the max they’re willing to pay. 

Conventional financing is a great option to get started if you have a W2 job or easily verifiable income and you're financing a 1-4 unit property.

-Interest rate of 5% is much lower than market interest rates. 7-8%+-There are no capex reserve considerations included. 5% is a starting point.

A duplex is a great starting point.

When you specifically mentioned STR experience and the possibility of something with some added "personal value" bells started going off. 

I'm a Michigan native looking to move back to start my portfolio but I haven't really spent too much time in Detroit and would love to hear people's experiences.

Our firm is planning on starting a Portal (legal term) next year on our roadmap because with $5M as the new threshold this really can move the needle for certain projects and sponsors.  

I started off with the standard turbo tax for 1099s and it felt limited.

Personally, I started investing in both single-family and multifamily without joining any coaching programs.

I bet that essentially no one is starting new construction projects, which bodes extremely well for owners 2-4 years from now.- Prices for insurance policies will never go back down, but it is not unreasonable to expect costs to rise at a more predictable pace from here.