I currently invest only in rural communities and small towns and its allowed me to scale to 24 units in three years. 

With @Michael Baum on this.Another angle of thought - who would have a better chance of success challenging Airbnb TOS:1) A "brand" with 5 units2) A brand with 500 units?

@Charles Evans, definitely keep all paperwork associated with your tenant (lease, receipts, etc).For expenses that are not split per unit but are for the entire structure (utilities if not separately metered, mortgage interest, etc), keep a record of those payments so your tax pro can deduct a percentage of them for the unit you're renting.

I here in the Netherlands Rotterdam working on renovating a 3 unit building

Get to know the people on a personal level at section 8.  

I understand this is not a requirement, but I have never received a damaged unit from an inherited tenant or any legal issues.

@Chanel Snerling if you're going to rezone in those Neighborhoods, you'd be better off going with max number of units possible.What construction project development & management experience do you have?

(It was Hollywood and everybody has dogs)2) Somebody tried selling the appliances that came with the unit which included the fridge, dishwasher, stove & microwave.3) We were recently affected by the fires and had to evacuate, some tenants refused to evacuate even after police forced them to because they were "tougher than the fire".Have you heard of those horror stories about tenants completely trashing apartments and feces all over the apartment?

This approach would allow me to learn with each deal and minimize initial risks.2️⃣ Go Straight to Multifamily: Instead of starting with SFHs, I could spend time learning the multifamily business and go directly for a 20+ unit building, maximizing scalability from the start.I have no experience with either strategy.If you were in my position, which strategy would you choose and why?

I don't do large rent increases on my tenant because I don't want a unit turn.