Your best bet is to keep liquid cash and avoid PMI.What conventional loan/lender is offering less than 20% down and no PMI? 

That said, the fewer units a property has, the easier it is to manage, so smaller multifamily properties can offer a good balance between cash flow and simplicity.

Owners mistakenly ASSUME all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY, so price is the only differentiator – so, they often select the first PMC they call or that calls them back!

Could be tough for the area, but also might be a great opportunity too for some large manufacturing facilities to go in there or logistics operations with all that land and location.Good luck and best wishes.

**NAHB Contracts**: The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) offers a variety of detailed and standardized legal templates specifically designed for the residential construction industry2.

Rental properties generally offer lower risk but also lower potential returns.

Either way its good to buy end of year as most builders and sellers are offering seller credits or builder credits to use towards closing costs or to buy a rate down to help get a lower payment.Even if you wanted to buy a strater home like a 2-4 unit as a primary again you only need to put 5% down. 

Personally, I love them because they offer built-in diversification.In my experience, local banks are your best bet for financing mixed-use properties.

@Yonathan Cabrera There's nothing marketable about your GC/friends offer.

@Marc Shin despite seeming to conflict each other, both @Jay Hurst and @Frank Pyle offer good points. #1 you can often find promotions for zero or low interest from furniture stores that you might want to consider. #2 many private/hard money lenders will consider furnishings if the deal, including the furnishings, falls into their deal box.Believe it or not, it might be easier to include the furnishings in the deal with a significantly lower down payment if there is other rehab work to be done.