(Probably for less than 60K because if I did my math correctly, that's about all I could afford)My question is this...do I wait until I have more income and better credit to buy a multi-family property that I can live in 1 unit and rent out the other 3 or 4 (MF's are where I want to end up in the future), or do I buy an awful SF home in a depressed area for 15K or 20K, put a few bucks into it, and hope that I can turn a profit? 

Find a depressed town with one big employer.My town in the worst place to live in Kansas according to Google, I don't carry but there is always a sidearm within arms reach.

We pulled money out during the boom years and the area is now severely depressed.

People who wish for a recession are just admitting they can't compete unless prices are significantly depressed. 

I grew up in the tax deed business in CA with my dad thats how he bought the vast majority of his inventory ( land) in the one county that we were dominate bidder in I would say out of about 300 to 400 items going to sale yearly  no more than 3 or 4 would have any kind of major improvements on it and an actual livable house almost never ever.  

A bit closer to you than Haverhill or Lawrence, though Wilmington is a great location to get to lots of major highways so those are a short jaunt up 93/495 too. 

For work invest in some of the depressed areas like Flint or Detroit or Grayling.

Some potential benefits of investing in real estate in Columbus include:Strong economic growth: Columbus has a strong and diversified economy, with a number of major employers in fields such as healthcare, education, and technology.

It would include requirements such as insurance, taxes, approval of major remodeling, etc.My money would then be secured by the title, and the $10,000 down would cover any legal trouble if my "partner" were ever to try to complicate my title or fail to make the balloon payment.

Puget Sound is a great place for B-class investing in both turnkey rentals and fixers (if you can find them, with all the local small REI-ers who are chasing deals).There's dozens of major new mid- and high-rise mixed use developments happening, too.