Second question: Who do you recommend for initial setup of the i401k?  

How restrictive they are may be estimated initially by the overall appearance of the common areas and the individual lots in a community.

It makes sense to partner with other investors during the initial deals.

I enjoy it there very much, so my initial thoughts were "why not buy a house there that I love and have short term tenants help me pay for it?".

When I evaluated them, I still factored in the short term costs that made the initial return slightly lower. 

I did like what @Alex Craig suggested that you either lend or come up with another way to build your initial capital.  

So, if the property is...unique...and doesn't qualify for a conventional loan, a portfolio lender may decide the issues are no big deal and make the loan.If nothing else, you can at least plead your case to a portfolio lender!

My initial goal is to start with a multi-tenant property in the Manhattan area (if it makes sense to do so), in which I may be able to occupy one unit as a tenant myself (i.e., go down the house-hacking route).

After making my initial post I ran across the other books that are sold on the site as well.

., As someone who fits that bill, I'd probably be annoyed to get it at work (at least initially).