The downside to using a CD is that the money is locked up until the CD matures.

Possibly using a professional third party vendor for the pre-inspection is a great idea, give a copy to the owner and tenant Excessive holes in walls Broken tiles or fixtures in the property Plumbing backups Repainting where a tenant has repainted from the original color Tears, holes, stains or burn marks in carpets Missing or damaged blinds Broken windows and window screens Broken doors and locks Broken or damaged appliances Excessively Dirty Pest control if you see Bugs and or fleasJunk or trash left behind Past Due rent Fees incurred from fines from the association due to the tenants conduct or lack thereof Water damage to hardwood floors Missing outlet covers Remotes for garage or gate if not returned Rekey of locks if tenants did not return the keys Unpaid utilities, as long as they were part of the lease agreement Undoing a tenant alteration This is a sample of things that are usually considered to be normal wear-and-tear and should not be deducted from a security deposit: Slab or plumbing leak Normal rug wear.

I have found that by using a funding company instead of all cash I am able to do multiple projects at one time.  

I am using a HML to purchase the property.

If you plan on using a large chunk, let's say $50K, for the down payment on a rental property, and you plan on keeping the rental property for longer than 7 years, the cash-out re-fi may be the way to go.

Afaik having the FHA loan does not prevent you from getting a conventional one on the second property - would a hybrid approach like buying first 4-plex using FHA loan (to take advantage of the very low downpayment) and then another SFH/duplex using a conventional loan be a good middle of the road solution here?

@Ben RiceI bought a 2/1 SFR in downtown SJ using a 3.5% loan.

@Abdul AzeezTwo choices.You can buy cash, rehab then refi into a traditional loan.Or you can buy a property that's in good condition using a traditional loan.

If you are using a lender for the purchase they will require you to get a vacant house insurance policy and they will usually issue one very reasonably for short term rates until the re-hab is complete and then get a policy depending if you are flipping or buy and hold. 

If it helps at all, I'll be using a VA loan so their inspectors are the ones that will be tearing through my property.