But ultimately, the terms proposed can be changed at any moments notice.

The ultimate goal here is to retire as soon as possible and not wait to grow equity over 5-10 years to be able to retire. 

Lowering the primary mortgage payment is the ultimate goal, not acquiring new properties. 

Ultimately, my goal is to scale my portfolio and purchase a second property within 1-2 years after graduating.

Ultimately I think the main focus of the visit is to familiarize yourself with the property (since you have not seen it in person yet) and check on the rehab work and meet your contractor and PM. 

This ultimately why the $100k midwest single family homes are frequently discussed in these forums.....its what many are able to afford to buy.

I would consider single family homes as well but multifamily is the ultimate goal.

Ultimately, I realized that trying to wait for a perfect moment feels a lot like attempting to time the stock market or predict a real estate bubble.There may be advantages to waiting and seeing how the election affects market policies, but it's hard to predict when those policies will take effect or how they’ll impact the market.

This is a summary of learnings from a recent project I personally completed.  
Steps involved:
1. Buy a home with a large backyard
2. Get permits to build a detached ADU (DADU)/backyard cottage in the backyard
3. ...

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).