I told her we need to own 2 residential for our 2 little ones because given 10 to 15 years time that its their time to buy, homes that were looking at will cost 850k to 1.2m. 

RUBS is a method used to allocate utility costs in multifamily residential properties when there aren't separate meters. 

A cost segregation study is a strategic tax planning tool that separates the assets that have a shorter useful life and can be depreciated over 5, 7 and 15 years from the residential rental property or nonresidential real property that are depreciated over 27.5 and 39 years, respectively.

If you're financing residential rental property (anything 1-4 units), you're best served with a mortgage broker or non-bank lender. 

A tried and true veteran of the construction shark tank both commercial and residential, you really want to take the extra few dollars and protect yourself. 

- When you began investing, did you start small with residential properties or did you dive into larger opportunities right away?  

Background in residential construction/renovations

I have done several buy and sell of land, residential, commercial.

Zoning must be residential, recreational, forest, or agricultural (remove the commercial, exempt, government, etc.)5.)

Not all investors share the same goal.If it's strictly positive cash flow, you're going to have a tough time meeting that goal while living in one of the units these days in Belmont Shore.Under the current economic decisions, if you're going to live in one of the units, a more realistic goal might be to subsidize your mortgage with the other two incomes to bring your mortgage payment down, build equity, ride the market appreciation, force some appreciation of your own, refinance when rates are in your favor to crush the mortgage payment down, and keep positive cash flow for a long-term goal.Belmont Shore is a nice area where homes hold their value well and enjoy good appreciation as well as strong rents and in general, the type of renters landlords are looking for.Belmont Shore is also a good area for short-term rentals and you may want to consider renting one unit as an LTR and the other as an STR.Ultimately, your situation is going to dictate whether this triplex is a good investment for you and your husband but as a Long Beach resident, I know that Belmont Shore is an area that people aspire to buy a home in.