Two years later, my financial planner told me to sell it b/c it was 80K upside down.

A planning consultant is just as good: http://www.planningpeeps.com/firms-and-freelancers.htmlKyle: Good to know variances can be done by City planners. 

It's called the funnel) This is not who i'm talking about, most "gurus" call center coaches that are actually not investors at all, but are regurgitating the course back to you along with some zig ziglar day planner directions for action and motivation. 

.… The answers may also vary depending on you you are receiving them from, lawyers, estate planners, insurance providers, etc.

As a financial planner, I've got to weigh this same question into advice I give clients.

Hopefully, city planners respond accordingly and re-think their approach to parking requirements for new development as I believe that's an answer to the wrong problem.

Your specific question needs to be answered by the city planners office of the city in which the property is located.What you are asking to do can be extremely difficult to accomplish,especially for a brand new investor with no experience.The neighborhood would have to be zoned legal for multi family properties to exist in that zone,many neighborhoods aren't.Here's a clue,if you don't see any multi unit properties within a couple of blocks of your desired location,the answer is probably "no".You might be able to build a duplex or triplex but probably not an entire apartment complex.You really should find some experienced partners who have done this before and can lead you to a profitable and legal deal.

This is all thanks to cluster zoning of multifamily by thoughtless city planners over the past 50 years.

You will learn a lot about the political side of what happens in cities, and planners have good information for investing in cities.

Along the way, I have met a real estate agent and a city planner who have been helping me along the way.