In Los Angeles, go to the city building and create a fictitious name application.  

It's a great way to build a rental portfolio. 

My partner didn't have good credit at the time of purchase so her income isn't a factor for the HELOC because she isn't on the mortgage or the deed. 

@Jimmy RojasReturns in real estate have historically matched the stock market - so use that as a reference pointJust like investing in some stocks builds wealth faster - so does real estate and vice versa

So its good to team up with good people to help you build up a good foundation so you have the best chance of success with people and systems. 

The building is in a cheaper suburb value only $250k range so I want to get this done affordably and need do all 4 units.

There's a limit to how much repairs can cost vs. a complete raze and re-build(will check current regulations to see what they are).My only concern are the liens and the problems inside.

You can build apartments in Homestead florida located in miami dade county right now on infill lots going for less than 100k. we are just beginning to look at the entitlements required and have one investor considering them. we would put 2-3 housing units per lot. don't go to fort Myers or any of the other locations that don't have market drivers like miami.

You want to factor in location, condition, bed/bath count, and square footage.

It's a highly technical process cumbersome by NYC Dept. of Buildings, therefore it hard to explain what to do in a few short sentences.