My goals with BP is to continue to learn everything I can about financing, analyzing deals, obtaining leads, and managing my rentals.

For instance, if there was a total of $250K of debt on those properties that woud leave you with $350K of proceeds to use to purchase $600K of real estate.  

Or paying off my debt, while I provide them with a nice house to live in instead of an apartment. 

If you take out debt to acquire, you will be negatively leveraged.  

If you tell someone too early you aren't renewing their lease, especially one who is aggressive, could lead you to issues.

any lender wants to know how you plan to service the debt.

Eliminate debt, establish a budget, and save.

I am looking for any recommendations on how to properly scale this idea over the first few years conservatively and not wanting to over use leverage and debt by starting small in duplex and being open to triple/quadplex in the future if the right opportunity presents itself.

You can lend at higher rates or look for debt funds that are taxed differently.

I would suggest taking the route of option 2 or 3, so not only are you saving over 10k in rent per year but the residents help in paying down the debt.