LENDERS won't count your 1st property's mortgage against your income if you have a signed written lease and 6 months verified tenant paid rents.DON'T BUY YOUR dream home now, buy the most rent-able  property: a minimum.                    3 BR 2 BA SINGLE FAMILY HOME ,  bigger if you can afford and a garage is a huge plus.

I'd recommend counting the amount of each in the immediate area.

I would not count on the garage for any additional income.

The best way to get money to buy another property is the down payment amount and appreciation you cannot count on.  

It's a converted garage that we cannot actually count towards the square footage apparently.

Also - on condos or townhomes, an increase in the monthly HOA fees or a special assessment might wipe out your return.I caution you against counting on appreciation.  

Not counting the time the place is vacant to rebuild.  

Sometimes it makes more sense to move a wall to open up a room or add a bathroom to get the desired bed/bath count.

When you say "highest multifamily", is that by count or % of total residences in the zip code? 

Also, for economic purposes, by placing home in LLC (a business), children will be elgible for more college financial aid since the business assets for a closely held company with few employees are exempt/not counted under federal financial aid laws but are counted when it is our personal name.