I believe 5 years is the average hold period for syndicated real estate, although there are still plenty of groups out there with 5-10 year investment horizons.

I'd look at your property, fix broken things immediately, then take inventory of what cap ex is on the horizon, such as new roof, furnace, windows, etc.

1) Great goal, long term horizon is the best way to invest.

I discovered "roofstocks" and my horizons immediately changed, and now I am looking to invest in rentals with cash flow out of state.

I think if you have a long term time horizon, that area is only going to go up over time.

Hi Aaron,If you were to refinance, the equity would get you cheaper PMI and possibly a shorter time-horizon before it drops off, however it's generally not worth all the closing costs of a refinance for such marginal benefit.To echo what others have said, I'd suggest waiting until you believe you have the equity for it to drop off entirely, that way you do not need to incur the costs of a refinance to drop it off entirely. 

But it's safe and tax advantaged as there is no gain recognition.Or you can change your investing parameters and do something like move into longer term horizon development. 

So if you find a great deal jump in but with a long term horizon.

It is a four unit building which comes with the plus side of being able to use a residential loan (longer term, lower rates), but make sure you're not overpaying based on other 4 units in the area.Lastly, I'd make sure the building is professionally inspected so you know if there's any deferred maintenance or any large capital expenditures that are looming on the horizon.  

The boilerplate answer is that it depends on your investable capital, ability/willingness to take risks, unique circumstances, investment horizon, legal concerns and liquidity (among a few factors).In your particular case (assuming you're under 35), it boils down to ability/willingness to take risks and investment objectives (closely tied with education and investment expectations).