Ideally was thinking a duplex, triplex, or quadplex to get started and use an FHA loan but I also have a private lender that can possibly help with up to $200k worth of a down payment.

VA loans are the only loans that allow this, and there is no rate penalty for it no longer being your primary home.With that in mind, you could do a cash out refinance today at a higher rate than current market rates which will create profit on the loan, we can take that profit to pay for your closing costs.

Just make sure the numbers work for repayment and your overall financial goals. 

Buy a 4-plex with an FHA loan.

So the only money out of pocket is any closing costs that don't get worked into a new loan.

Hire a loan servicer - plenty of discussion and recommendation on BP on this topic and some recommendations for servicing companies 

As far as financing what would be a good loan?  

For financing, there are programs like FHA loans for first-time buyers, and there may be local or state-level programs offering incentives for affordable housing investments.

We continue to see slight upticks in defaulted loans and loans in bankruptcy.

They provide lines of 0% credit with an 8% fee, hard money and DSCR loans among others. https://www.rammfinancial.com/Thoughts?