I am an architectural designer from Trinidad and Tobago, who is new to Real Estate and real estate investing.

In 2017 I met a Mexican woman from Tulum through mutual friends who was looking for design advice for a property she was developing in her neighborhood, the Vileta district (Region 15, south west of the main town).

However the property has a freeway behind it and hence no rear neighbors /more privacy.You’re going to see low or negative returns with minimum down payments in that area unless you’re going BIG as in much larger homes and much heftier budgets for design/amenities.There’s great cashflow on the Clearwater/Largo/Seminole/StPete side - you’re looking at 2 high cashflow buckets that I call Tier 1 and Tier 2. 

Architecture did a design and well respected contractor estimated the buildout of 4 plex would be an additional ~800k for total project cost of ~1M. it would be ~1.2M for the 7 plex.  

You're making a fairly common mistake of designing your castle when you haven't even learned how to build a chicken coop.

That curriculum you are following was designed for you by the school this way. 

Software: Stessa for accounting, Deal Check for quick and dirty analysis of potential purchasesMarket positioning: Pet-friendly (fenced-yard, accept dogs and cats), well-designed homes, off-street parking, suburban, full cable TV package (not streaming only)Pricing: Targeting upper-middle market (not budget-conscious guests)So far, so good (since 2020)

We let him go to design centers, etc and give his opinion since being a toddler.  

For design, it really depends on your preference? 

Once you get through move in, the day to day management is pretty hands off and easy (famous last words, but so far, so good).Other than that, get a second opinion/eye from someone you trust - preferably a professional designer - on the furnishings and design.