I have a tenant who lives in my very nice three bedroom unit whose lease provides a pet authorization for “one dog, one cat and one rabbit.”

For scaling your portfolio, consider house hacking another multi-family property to minimize living expenses while building equity.

I live in the Milwaukee area and want to get started investing locally but eventually want to branch out into other cities and states.

The law does NOT apply to landlords:With less then 5 rental unitsThat live in one unit of a duplex and rent out the other unitThat rent out rooms in the home they occupySo, landlords can no longer state in their rental ads, "Section 8 not accepted".The reverse is also true, "Section 8 only", cannot be used.We've always recommended screening S8 tenants the same way as cash-paying tenants.Landlords waiving application fees and/or security deposits only for S8 prospects may also be violating Fair Housing.

If they do, you may have a chance under the scenario you're proposing - if they share your concern for it's condition (although that seems unlikely since they've been living with it the way it is for some time, it seems).If you own it, it's pretty lowbrow to expect a neighbor to invest in your property. 

I live in the Las Vegas market and have investments and a real estate brokerage in Henderson.

Hi @Rachelle BertumenI live and work in the Truckee/Lake Tahoe area and personally own two long-term multifamily units in Reno.

Consider using an FHA loan to secure a 1–4 unit property with just 3.5% down and take advantage of tax benefits by living there for at least two years.

I live in my own primary residence and that is fully paid off. 

Also, the state of formation is likely where internal disputes would be brought among LLC members, so if you and a partner and/or spouse live in CA, you probably want to arbitrate in CA if the two of you had a disagreement.