The recent earthquakes destroyed many multi-family complexes and will continue doing so.

I suspect even the banks who are aggressively expanding are doing so merely to sure up their geographical presence  to in order to expand their customer base but will then pull back on their branch numbers.Unless there is significant term remaining on the lease, there are other retail concepts that would be deemed more marketable.

I'm about to move out of my current place and into my moms house after so many years of being on my own.

For all multi-family properties we always handle the lawn care as there are common areas so we can't expect the tenants to care for it.When sending the security deposit claim we state the additional cost that is owed for damages even if the entire security deposit is claimed for other damages.

They never talked to me about it and instead just had the shelter call me repeatedly for permission.

Knowing who to contact and what lenders can execute in the marketplace is so crucial and as an investor, that can eat up a lot of time and resources that would otherwise be better used elsewhere when trying to do it on your own. 

If so, how?

If so, I'm actually insuring two rental properties with them.

You can also build a single family home or a 2-4 unit multifamily so its really up to you and what you are looking to accomplish.

Thanks so much!