Luckily I have not spend any money on any "guru" courses.

There are lenders out there spending a ton on advertising with an army of correspondent's funneling them loans and many can very well be one and done borrowers because the loan servicing/construction admin is lousy. 

THEN, I plan to purchase the second home using a FHA or conventional loan (3%-5% down), for which I will likely pay the monthly cost out-of-pocket, maybe with some rental income support if it is a duplex.My concern is, I do not want to spend my savings or weigh down my debt-to-income ratio so much so that I cannot qualify for and pay the down payment and closing for the lending on the second home.Questions: - With the first home being multi-family, 75% of the rental income (or potential rental income initially) will relatively either maintain or boost my debt-to-income ratio from lenders' perspectives, right? 

Extended Family? 

Your best bet is to set goals related to deal-finding and spend your time on that right now. 

If you’re in a market where you have to spend money on roofs, or exterior paint that’s ctainly you can save up for.

Hi I had my property manager handle my renovation on a unit in Maine while I am living in Connecticut. I specified that my budget is $15,000. After she gave me the numbers, I calculated the rehab to be around $16,000 ...

As I transition the property to a duplex + 2 ADUs, I am considering spending $10K+ to get another master meter put in.

As a starting point: -If they work full time and make $700k a year -Don't want to or can't spend time self managing a short-term rental -Don't have a spouse who wants to take the lead on managing the rentals They are likely not going to directly reduce their taxable income with real estate year-to-year. 

They just extended the maturity date on it, but other than that, it has been going smooth.