Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.House hacking, on my first four unit apartment building.

Clarity shows commitment and improves your chances of obtaining funding, whichever property you choose.

It is always better to start with a multi-unit 2+ so that if something goes wrong, you still have one tenant to cover necessary expenses (mort, taxes, insur, etc).Also, major renovations are not a great idea for starting out as others said, especially out of state.

I have read a couple of Brandon Turners books on house hacking and multi family and really enjoyed his writing style.

In times of economic stress, people may not choose to vacation in Las Vegas.

I am highly motivated and already have direct mail campaigns for multi-family apartments in the mail for the Sacramento area. 

Quote from @Rob Gallitto: Getting ready to sell a multi-family property in Northeastern, Ohio the property has two units.

Expect to spend a considerable amount of your time speaking to people.Expect to work dozens of hours/week with little to no immediate result.Expect most of your early interest from potential clients to come from your sphere of influence.Expect to go 3-6 months without getting paid (unless you do rentals which usually pay faster)Expect to be bombarded with distractions - mainly, people/companies marketing to you so that you choose their system for quick and easy buyer or seller leads.

You'll have to just choose the one with the least amount of headaches as it relates to your business.  

I'm getting to a point where I might want to pursue a lender for future investments but am trying to understand how these lenders choose people to work with.These types of lenders are called "Hard Money" because they are not betting on the borrower.