Assemble as much money as is reasonable, be prepared and enjoy the ride.

Not all investors share the same goal.If it's strictly positive cash flow, you're going to have a tough time meeting that goal while living in one of the units these days in Belmont Shore.Under the current economic decisions, if you're going to live in one of the units, a more realistic goal might be to subsidize your mortgage with the other two incomes to bring your mortgage payment down, build equity, ride the market appreciation, force some appreciation of your own, refinance when rates are in your favor to crush the mortgage payment down, and keep positive cash flow for a long-term goal.Belmont Shore is a nice area where homes hold their value well and enjoy good appreciation as well as strong rents and in general, the type of renters landlords are looking for.Belmont Shore is also a good area for short-term rentals and you may want to consider renting one unit as an LTR and the other as an STR.Ultimately, your situation is going to dictate whether this triplex is a good investment for you and your husband but as a Long Beach resident, I know that Belmont Shore is an area that people aspire to buy a home in.

Or, you may be in a target hail prone area and current roof inspects as solid for at least another few years, which hold good chance % of getting hit by hail and thus diminishing your expense ~50% if not more if have right coverage. 

I've shifted my focus from textbooks to spending quality time with my dad, who hasn't been feeling well lately, and I'm aiming to build up some savings through investments.Now, I don't have a car, but I have a friend who works nights and has kindly offered to give me rides anywhere between 3am and 4pm.

Well, it's boring if you don't like scuba, snorkeling, boating, swimming, fishing, the Mayan ruins, Xcaret, riding around in golf carts, a marina, Dolphin Encounter, etc. in a very secure, safe environment that has a very low crime rate, and is constantly patrolled.

I do acknowledge I have a hard road ahead and missed the free ride part of the trip. 

So lets say we're good at market cap rate 6-8, then for the next 10 years you would ride til cap rate 4-5 again , but then during this point of market cycle 3 or 4 cap rate, then cap rate would regress to cap rate 6 again (aka losing valuation every 8-12 years).This cyclical thing in MF, we don't have that problem in residential.In today's 5% CD rate, I am feeling very safe if I have to buy primary with 5-6% ; or invest at CD ; but with multifamily volatility and rent dropping, it's not good investment outthere.

I have to ask though, if she has herniated discs that are so bad, how often is she riding the bike?

Returns- flip at  say 5 year plan or if you have to hold to ride out the market.  

Let's ride!