This probably implies FIRE in his 20s, but I hope he is passionate about the path he has chosen and excels at it until at least a more traditional retirement age.He started the 2nd rehab he is leading.  

To me, that was useful and we moved on to discussing more productive things.

If you can find smaller local banks in the market you pick they may have more unique products that they keep on their balance sheet or try and do the 5% down conventional on a 4-unit  FHA's self-sufficiency test applies to both 3 and 4-unit properties.

EXCELLENT response to the question. 

You can easily self manage 1 property with Zillow and Excel.

(Only if you are SERIOUS about real estate as your wealth/career vehicle.)Make sure you join a brokerage that is large, established, and has a reputation for top performance and excellent training.Once you learn the basics and get out into the field to see the state of the market, you'll learn the price points and be able to know a good/great deal when you stumble across it.I have made some of my best (most lucrative) buys from meeting with a seller who wants to list, and when we discussed the price, I knew it fit my parameters, so I bought it! 

For analytical activities I still leverage trusty Excel and other data crunching tools. 

You can find excellent resources on YouTube, BiggerPockets, and through local REI meetups.

Excellent point and I am not even a foodie.

@Andrew M. yeah, if you opened a HELOC while you opened while living there then it's likely that they don't want to extend that current product.