Also you don't have to deal with an abutter objecting after its already been approved by the town/city etc, which would kill your development.  

Buy experiences, not objects.

You mention multi family, so I'd avoid the "shiny object syndrome" and go for a nice duplex from day 1.

Lenders often insist that 100% of the proceeds from the first few sales go to paydown the loan until paid off, but that can complicate your goals and objectives (including a 1031 Exchange) since part of the proceeds used to paydown the debt may actually relate to another property.  

The particulars of how you should think through that strategically can have large financial and tax consequences depending upon your investment objectives.

Most investors set parameters based on their goals and objectives.

Our objective is to never sell our properties.

She’s not sold onto the idea, she has the shiny object syndrome and wants the nice single family house with a picket fence.

However, try to keep on blinders when it comes to shiny object syndrome.

The best ones for yield are Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.Of course, it all depends on your objectives and what sort of returns you're looking after.I hope this helps.