I used to think when no one at all wants to live in a neighborhood it's more possible to appreciate rapidly.

Real estate investing has been a passion of mine for time with my mother also having invested early on where I likely have gotten the love and desire to follow similar foot steps.I have taken last 6 months to educate myself and currently own a single family home as primary residence and would like to expand to multi family properties (2-4 units) for additional stream of income, not to mention potential tax benefits for long-term investing.Based on current living situation, I have a fair amount of equity established in my primary residency along with having enough cash to either pay off house completely or use towards investing in a multi family property.Given that I'm the sole source of income for our household with my wife being the home maker for our two kids under 2, trying to weigh out risks with getting started now or perhaps waiting. 

Would it be buying more of the same type of properties or expanding into larger properties?

Happy to connect and assist you in your real estate investing journey.Happy to connect if you are interested to expand your portfolio

Quote from @Gene D Stephens: Hi Chris,I'm relatively new here and was just wondering if you could expand on your last comment.  

Bigger Pockets is a great place to find a real estate tax accountant.A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

Focus on affordable markets, build a strong network, and continually educate yourself through books, podcasts, and deal analysis to steadily expand your portfolio.Good luck!

I'm now considering expanding my real estate ventures into building custom homes, but I know this is an entirely different beast between the required capital, learning curve, time committment, etc. 

If you spend time learning how to manage well, your income will increase, you'll save time, and you'll maintain your sanity with the courage to expand.

Do you mind expanding on how you attained closing cost and down payment?