As long as the contractor is licensed and you're getting them materials and permits, I would think that opens your spectrum up quite a bit.

It seems as though there are two ends of the spectrum, the very expensive million dollar multi families near Boston, or the 100k multi families in the Worcester area and not many in between. 

I'm far from the higher spectrum regarding the topic of this thread, but its comments like what you've made here (and a few other nuggets I gleaned from things you've written in other posts) have become watershed moments of inspiration. 

On the other end of the spectrum. 

I may be a little slower on the spectrum and or just a victim of the analysis paralysis group but my story seems to fall into the 11% group. 

Obviously, experienced pros can, and do make money with new builds, but in the spectrum of safe vs. risky real estate strategies, I'd say new build is a bit more on the risky side (compared to a relatively simple strategy like house hacking, where the financial models have much fewer moving pieces)...Good luck out there!

You will gradually get better as you go through the model-->purchase-->operate cycle if you intend to be a buy & hold investor.Your posting asked for advice on becoming an expert in the full spectrum of multi-family and commercial properties.

Frankly that is a pretty broad spectrum so you might need to narrow it down a bit.

im on the other end of the spectrum. working with people that invest in my market but dont live here

Two examples on different ends of the spectrum are in Texas.