#McCormickI have some Youtube videos (link in my profile) that will help with some of your questions and I'd be happy to have a call to help walk you through the market and what you should consider when looking here.

We've had develpment plans with stream and wetlands crossings, which required both state and Federal permits. 

It seems like you have some very solid goals of multiple income streams, and a well calibrated risk tolerance. 

With that in mind, I’m considering purchasing four rental units over the next four years to build a stream of income that could help supplement my retirement by age 68.The challenge I’m facing is that the deals I’ve come across so far don’t make financial sense.

I'm looking to make this part of the retirement stream of income rather than an effort to accumulate multiple properties.

However, vacancy means covering 100% of the expenses.Multifamily properties almost always generate higher cash flow due to multiple income streams, which also reduces the risk of vacancies.

I think they contain solid information and will help lay a good foundation as a beginner (Haha, I'm completely new to real estate as well, btw)I'm also going to be reading the following books, and hopefully I can finish all by the end of this month:1) The ABCs of Property Management2) The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing3) Long-Distance Real Estate Investing How to Buy, Rehab, and Manage Out-of-State Rental Properties (this might be the most important one to me personally)4) The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (and Low) Money DownIn addition to reading, I'm consuming crazy amounts of youtube videos, and I'recommend you do this as well.

It's likely a scam anytime they sound like AI or the grammar is weird or they use the word "kindly", if they ask for you to respond to them off-platform, if they say their employer will pay for it, if they ask if the dates they've specified are still open (when they can clearly see they are open on your calendar), if they ask for a video of your property (they probably want to set up a duplicate listing with your photos and video and scam others out of money), or if they want a long term booking and they have just joined the platform and have no reviews (could have been evicted from somewhere else, and hope a newbie will let them in with no background check, they'll end up not paying or credit card is bad).  

He knows his stuff and is really good at making IG videos: his brand is a very clever mix of being super humble, telling everyone profits are less than you think and then flashing some fat $$ he made by selling to his investors.

We have never collected that and it is not a significant cost.Also be very careful changing criteria mid stream, I would only change it between vacancies.