I don;t know your life style but once I carefully reviewed my wants vs needs my finance started to head in the right direction. 

Usually you have the home style loans for a conventional lender, they take time to close though rates might be 5.5Then you have portfolio lenders usually local bank who can fund repairs and purchase.

Thinking of keeping it loft-style, big open spaces except for bedrooms and baths, trendy but low-cost finishes, hopefully 2 beds/1 bath per unit. 

as I belive some people are trying to avoid the hassle of furnituring style and overall cost but not sure if they are the majority in the market or not.

Multifamily falls out of style - Cap Rates inflate.Yes, there are baseline economic relationships, but there is a psychological component.

what environmental requirements will you need when defending your project in getting permits?

I interviewed a few property rentals out there and their work style isn't fast enough for me so I took things in my own hands and just managed it myself with 4 different units. 

I considered tile but (1) it’s expensive to demo once it’s out of style/favor with tenants, and (2) it’s more expensive (I think)We’re still open to it, but we’re going to try a thicker vinyl first and see how that goes.

This being said if you were to do this on a personal mortgage style format I hear some are getting rates in the 4% range.

My wife and I are considering house-hacking in style by buying one of those big, 1920's duplexes west of Hancock Park and renting the other half.