If possible get a 4 unit and a basement, that would be ideal and create major cash flow and equity creation, plus you can not worry about a property manager and boost your yield.

If they work, then 13% less is not ideal, but it still works and yay!

@AJ H.Thank you AJ,Cash flow primarily.Appreciation ideally.

Ideally the homes will be modular as I've had the best experience with that. 

So maybe I’m not running the numbers correctly... for a duplex, ideally the rent from the other side would cover the mortgage at a minimum but we should factor in  vacancy, repairs/maintenance, capex, and management fees.

Ideally I'd like whatever material looks the best/is the most durable/affordable!

Ideally he wants to live in an apartment over a garage, and rent out the house.

Ideally not a cash deal.

Ideally, you are only doing 1-3 apps to compare pricing (not a whole slew of them).

LLC commercial financing terms make buy-and-hold deals unprofitable(in the local market) so setting up an LLC seems  not ideal(notwithstanding other asset protection reasons)After a lot of reading, i am leaning towards house hacking one house a year but i am just wondering if there are other creative ways to scale up the portfolio.