Mine is buy a solid house wherever you choose, get it rented as an LTR and have a property manager manage it. 

If other partner does not choose to purchase the other partner interest the property is sold.  

Let us know how it goes and which direction you choose

A better approach might be to find a REI Association in the area(s) and ask other investors for their recommendations - it's not uncommon to choose a different appraiser depending on the type of property (residential vs commercial MFH vs. office or industrial) and the objective of the appraisal.

When house-hacking, I would choose the market that you're already living in.

@Austin TessTo buy your first multifamily property, follow these steps: get pre-approved for financing with an FHA Loan, identify a high rental demand market, choose between house hacking or pure rental strategy, analyze the property using the 1% rule, build a team, negotiate the purchase, and manage the property professionally.

However, as others suggested, you may want to also consider hiring a property manager.Should you go the route of registering an LLC you could always choose to use a registered agent for anonymity on the LLC.

We get commercial financing through small regional banks who often require us to make rent deposits as a condition of our loan agreement so we 'choose' whichever bank gives us financing.

If you choose this route, make sure to have clear, written agreements in place and maintain a professional landlord-tenant relationship.

If you wish to double check every pre-approval letter that is your prerogative but you are choosing to do this work yourself.