How much can you budget for furnishings and all kitchen items and creature comforts for the ones you want to MTR.If you have a vacant 6-unit, you have great possibilities to try all strategies.

network with local agents to see where they took theres. but not much to it but go with who you feel comfortable with.

My grandfather used this truth to subdivide & sell most of his farmland in rural MA and sustain his family comfortably over the years.  

There's a lot more compliance, regulations, and other protections that many brokers do not feel comfortable hiring just anyone. 

A lot of people are just comfortable enough to justify inaction.

They are too close for comfortable game play.

A primary residence will most often provide more favorable loan terms so if you are willing to wait one year while you living in your new property and are comfortable with renting out your primary residence to a tenant, then getting something such as an FHA loan is a good strategy to minimize your upfront costs and hopefully get better loan terms.

Quote from @Scott Mac: Safety - Inherit a fully paid for SFH, in decent condition, in the neighborhood you live in, and rent it out to long term tenants who you are comfortable with.

I wasn't comfortable with putting too much at stake as a newbie, so I invested in cheap markets to just get my feet wet.

I don't think it is a bad idea to find work in real estate somehow as it will allow you to be comfortable with being around it in general, such as a property management company.