Great rental income, strong FICO, low LTV (60% or below), strong liquidity and PFS.

I'd strongly recommend against a single family home and only target properties with at least 2 units otherwise it'll be difficult to cashflow in this high interest rate environment unless you plan on using a large amount of liquidity in the purchase.

We have 40k in the bank and 100k equity in our current house (but we can't afford a larger payment on our current residence).

I believe they eventually sold for a huge profit and 1031’d into a larger property.

Additionally, we have a decent amount invested in retirement accounts, which we plan to continue building over time.As part of the move, we’ll be purchasing a larger home.

I guess they can feel blessed they weren’t crushed and sent out of business by the rampant theft that forced closures of even larger and well funded grocery stores in Detroit, Chicago, LA and NYC. 

You could find someone in the process of liquidating their portfolio and needs someplace to put their funds. 

I currently own a 3/2 ranch home with about 100k in equity and have 100k in liquidity.

If the only MFH options you're finding are in areas you're not comfortable with, it might be worth focusing on a duplex in a better neighborhood.Saving up for a larger property later is a valid approach too, but keep in mind that real estate tends to appreciate over time, and waiting might make it harder to enter the market later.

We are already partnering on multiple properties so this is part of a larger plan, I just was wondering if there were other ways to think about the proportion of cash to equity.