@Colin Ford recommend getting experience with your RI duplex before going OOS.You should DIY manage the unit next door, so you LEARN about property management, the goog, the bad and the ugly.Then you'll be so much better prepared to invest OOS!

Trying to balance proper due diligence against my desire to just acquire a bunch of mediocre units!  

She has a ton of units in Des Moines and still lives in the area so may be able to give you some advice on what might work there and what won't.

One thing that I’m seeing it that large multi unit buildings beyond the 800k mark are all on a boiler and paying to heat the entire building ruins the numbers.

I've invested in both multi-unit properties (2-4 units), and multi-family properties (5+ units).

There is a flaw in the business model and thier internal processes need a lot of work.First the good,Yes, I got paid every month.Nomad found me good renters.Next the badDue to needing to make the guaranteed rent they rented my unit below market valueIn communicating with Nomad they were disorganized, often sending conflicting messages and not alignedNomad offered to find me a repair company, that compnany charged $400 for a $25 dollar part and I was stuck with Nomad saying "not their problem" and the vendor saying Nomad was the client not me.Nomad was horrible to my renters as their property management term ended.

Thar's gold in them ther' hills", if you know HOW & WHERE to look.We've got all of Detroit's 183+ Neighborhoods mapped on our website - which can help.DM us for more info...

I put the cash from the refi back into more mutlifamily units that produce more rental income. 

Start by leveraging what you already have—consider tapping into equity through a HELOC, house hacking again with an FHA loan, or increasing cash flow by converting a unit to a short-term rental.

I went to both MTR and LTR of FULLY FURNISHED units.