got out of flipping to new construction in our market in columbus ohio. licensed general contractor. when interest rates got high single family existing went down by 30% new builds sold at a 6% increase that year which demonstrated the desire and premium that new construction commands. never looking back. total control, rinse and repeat. we can get permits in 28 days. we can buy land cash in 21 days. we can build in 120 days to 140 days and keep moving. super scalable and easy and no risk. we build the same 2-3 Floorplans 

Your best bet is to set goals related to deal-finding and spend your time on that right now. 

And they remain owner and control the funding aspects.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

They simply did not desire to spend more time than it was worth to recover the money from Airbnb.

Usually unless you’re willing to spend a bunch of money on marketing it will take a while to organically grow your network. 2.

So, instead of spending the time to move the stuff out of the apartment, we offered it as furnished.

She is renting the apartment, not the entire property.It's very important for landlords to understand Landlord-Tenant rights and maintain control of the property.

THEN, I plan to purchase the second home using a FHA or conventional loan (3%-5% down), for which I will likely pay the monthly cost out-of-pocket, maybe with some rental income support if it is a duplex.My concern is, I do not want to spend my savings or weigh down my debt-to-income ratio so much so that I cannot qualify for and pay the down payment and closing for the lending on the second home.Questions: - With the first home being multi-family, 75% of the rental income (or potential rental income initially) will relatively either maintain or boost my debt-to-income ratio from lenders' perspectives, right? 

You have zero control over the stock market, whereas when you do private lending, you have significantly higher control and contractually guaranteed return on your money.