I am open for either options but would like experts advice for a newbie - which will be most beneficial  down the line in 5 to 10 years. 

This gives you a better opportunity to do STR or MTR and not bother yourself or the LTR tenant with more people coming in an out.3.

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Also there is a new thing called "novation" and I am not an expert on this and can't comment on it.

I am no expert and just do what I am told.  

People even do this in Vancouver though it must be extremely challenging.  

You could try to value it with the income approach, with NOI & DSCR, but that usually isn't done with smaller multifamily.You're going to have to extrapolate out farther and see where other smaller multifamilies have traded.

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I manage my own portfolio and have worked as a PM for a very successful individual but have never considered managing other peoples properties.

Since most people who are not actively seeking a sale are not motivated to sell at anything other than a top of the line price, this is going to be a numbers game of x thousands of contacts for every potentially doable deal.