Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

However, you could buy a property with seller financing.

(You said you plan to buy it for the amount of the loan, not the value of the property.).

Determine what type of property you want to buy - What Zip code, what condition homes, price range, etc.Contact 3-4 realtors that helped buyer agent buy the type of homes you are looking to buy.Then go with the 1 realtor that you connected with the most.

The reason most inexperienced investors buy in Detroit or Cleveland is because of cheap pricing.

Great opportunities to buy single family house and rent out the bedrooms.  

I am looking for advise on how to structure a deal that involves my fiancé and I buying her parents 4-Plex house.

That they wanted "Cheap" buys, not intelligent buy's, not data driven buys, not future casting buys, just "cheap". 

If you're willing and able, I do recommend the "house hacking" strategy which is just a fancy name for buying a rental property and living in one of the units, because you'll get very favorable financing - an owner-occupied fixed-rate 30-year mortgage.I'd also say, analyze that property as if you won't live there and it's a pure rental, and make sure the property is still cash flow positive if there's a tenant in your unit because then you'll know if it's actually a good investment.And when you analyze it, include payment of a property manager in your #s because if you don't, and doing so would make it go cash flow negative, then you've just bought yourself a job because you literally can't step away from managing it without losing money.

Where are you looking to buy in those states?