But in a way I was grateful (initially) for the circumstance as I knew thought that it would force me to try my hand at hiring out work.As back story - I've grown our real estate portfolio historically through shear will power and sweat equity, completing all of the work myself.

Colder air cannot hold as much moisture and can cause parts of your roof to sweat.

i agree with jason v. the western new york market is stagnant at best, and it is largely due to the overbearing tax rates. investing here takes a lot of homework. " experts" can say and do all they want to push up the value of a property whether it is a MFR or  a SFR. fact it, taxes never go down. so, the tax rate you have now, is going to stay where it is or go higher, which only means your value is going to stagnate, at best. do your own numbers game. after all, in the end, it is your opinion that means the most. i find buying way under value and building sweat equity really is the only way to go in the western new york market. 

I think right now the best way to find a small multi that make sense is to find something where you can get some sweat equity after doing work on it.

Also, you could "live in flip" by putting in sweat equity but not renting rooms for 2 years, then sell tax free or move out turn it into a pure rental.

Joel Owens I'm in that 1031 boat now and even with a lot of planning I'm sweating till I close.

Use the budgeted capex and repairs to force some sweat equity.

Also, for a single family, given your construction background, I'd pick up an older, smaller home (maybe 1980s, 1500 SF, 3 bed, 2 bath, no HOA) that needs cosmetic work (floors, paint, landscaping, minor kitchen and bath refresh, etc.) at a discount and put in some sweat equity before renting rooms. 20% on a home like this will be less money, leaving you some cash for renovations which would create more equity ... you could later cash out refinance to tap that extra equity and redeploy it in the next property, or let it sit and have higher cash flow with a lower mortgage if you want to go safer.

The MLS ones hide all of the blood, sweat, and tears.

I hope this helps it does cost me time sweat descent friends and roughly 80 bucks a mailing and most of that is because stamps arent cheap.Sorry for the long post,  but if you have any questions for me or dont understand hit me up.Good Luck,Mike