I suspect the only way to find out whether buying tax lien certificates at an auction is worth it is to go big like Will Sifert did. 

Question:2 If we plan to buy a second property 1 or 2 years down the lane, how would lenders approach the underwriting?

5- What's your take on focusing on selling vs. buying, if anything?

Quote from @Alex Lee: I'm looking into buying a massive fixer upper in New Jersey.

It's a good rental market for buy and hold.

Some investors flip for immediate capital and then pivot to buy-and-hold properties for long-term wealth.Which do you prefer—flip for faster returns or hold for long-term growth?

Watching the housing market you want to buy in and knowing the areas you want to buy and having the data to give you confidence to make a quick offer will get you a solid deal.

That means that you can buy a property with up to four units, since this is still considered residential.

I've done a lot of research into this and believe this is for me, but am getting some roadblocks when it comes to funding requirements and my buy box not aligning.

(I also don't understand how you have a hard money loan with a rate of 7.25%...)offering an equity position that you then buy out in just a few years seems like way too much complexity and risk when you say you just need 30K.