----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Without having much info, I would need to know the financial situation of the 'close family' to determine a best approach.

If you are in low to mid six figures say $250k a year -   you would need around $2.5  - $3M in cash to make the similar income consistently and without significant risk.Thank you, Chris, for your thoughtful insights—it’s an excellent point to consider the financial and tax implications of leveraging equity.

@John Friendas  it's close to the 1% rule which is good, but I would still run the financials on it. 

NMLS call center said they have no problem with it but it strikes me as odd that the MU4 filing requires you to disclose other 'financial related activity'. 

Apartments, Student Housing, Self Storage, Commercial, etc.The SEC classifies a DST as a security so they must be purchased from a financial advisor.The costs very A LOT by financial advisor and DST Sponsor.

Let's assume that the neighborhood is a C class and the median income of the city is greater than 3X of the market rent.Here are some of the considerations I've come up with so far:- Units are in need of renovation and capex is too high or not available- Unit quality is not the same as market - Seller is worried about losing tenants due to increase- Vacancy rates are high or filling units have been difficult- Rent increase would take multiple increases over multiple lease periods to get to market rate if seller is trying to retain the same tenant- Seller inherited property and just want to liquidate- Seller needs to liquidate quickly (financial burden, sickness, quick exit from land-lording)It seems like I might be missing a warning sign about a deal if they are selling with current rents that are under market; but again, this seems to be most of the properties I've underwritten.And in the same vein, what should I be worried about when purchasing a deal with under market rent with the intention of raising them after purchase. 

You're doing a great thing for your financial future.

While both involve finding and properly securing a site and bringing it to full entitlement, the ground-up process includes the land piece but gets way more involved and complex to execute.The full "Monty" for ground-up development needs to include financial literacy, an explanation of metrics, and how they work.

I am a newbie in this realm and looking forward to learning all I can in this endeavor of becoming financially independent.