Quote from @Jefferey Eutsay: I'm considering making an offer on a 36-unit multi-family property.

I'm not trying to insult you, but the terms "36-Unit Multi-Family" and "First Time Investor" should not go together.

I was going through the rent control laws ( I know, should have done that before purchasing the property ), and a section stands out. https://ecode360.com/30526708#42037155Based on what I can read, the rent control chapter doesn't apply to: Dwellings of three and four units, at least one of which is occupied by one or more of the owners thereof.My understanding is that rent control doesn't apply to owner-occupied multi-units. 

So this Multi I want to offer in Kearny New Jersey (NJ) has an illegal finished bathroom in the basement and finished rooms.

congratulation on your success, but you should stop telling new hosts to post on multi platforms because the occupancy rate matters a lot.  

He is in the media business and knows that eventually this thread dies.  

If I need to sell, a SFH is a lot easier to sell than a multi-family boat anchor if you’re in a bind.

When I used to have RE Broker in my title ( I still have the license just dont practice) I would get folks pinging me about Vegas about once a quarter or so and I would hand those leads to my Daughter  she made some pretty awesome connections from a few of those folks that bought multi million dollar homes..

This doesn't mean that you can't purchase a multi-unit (duplex, triplex, etc.), but I do not believe that you will qualify for VA loan entitlement if you purchased a property that is not your primary residence.

I started with multifamily but price expectations have gotten out of control.Just refinanced my multi-tenant retail property and pulled out much more cash than I put in.