@James Orystart with a house hack

If not I would explore house hacking.

You might want to consider doing a house hack to help you qualify for more.

Houses have gotten bigger. 2.   

Both houses need a new roof that will cost 15k. 

If you are purchasing that MF property for $1 mil then you can use the 3 units as your replacment for the 1031 exchange ($750K of value) and live in the last unit ($250K of value).An awesome way to house hack your way up!!! 

The fastest way in my opinion is house hacking with Airbnb.

to your point, if you save up so that you're in a strong financial position, house hack a solid duplex in a decent neighborhood, make smart decisions, and hold it indefinitely, you'll be fine.conversely, if you have $0 and somehow start out with a risky flip, or borrow $20K and spend it all on a magic mentoring program, or buy a terrible property in a neighborhood you've never been to, you may not be fine.

i am heartened by the posts, though, from new investors house hacking.

For a first time investor, I definitely recommend house hacking for most people as homeowner loans are by far the best in terms of rate and LTV.