For obvious reasons you wouldn't want to deal with an individual who is attempting to circumvent these laws & regulations.

Finally deciding (after like the fifth webinar) to get off my butt and get my first property.Hoping to add to my team and build a solid network of realtors, contractors, future partners and like-minded individuals here. 

Homevestors has a 3-4. there are a rockpile of individual ones there.

"If an individual keeps or is seeking to keep an animal that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks in housing, an owner, lessor, lessor's agent, owner's agent, or representative of a condominium association may request that the individual submit to the owner, lessor, agent, or representative reliable documentation that the individual has a disability and reliable documentation of the disability-related need for the animal, unless the disability is readily apparent or known.

As private lenders, we prefer this as it gives us more comfort that the purpose of the transaction is business purpose and we are not providing a loan for an individual's primary residence.  

Most of them are sold individually so buying the entire 4plex doesn't come up as often.

You can move in and get renters to live with you just keep in mind most cities only allow 3 unrelated individuals living at one address.

I state that I've done it numerous times for people in situations like hers all I need is her authorization. 

You still have several options, depending on if you want to invest directly in individual properties or be a bit more removed:Full-service turnkey investment: Should be mostly passive after you do your due diligence and pick a provider, but don't skimp on your homeworkYou choose which props to purchase, but have no control over tenanting choices, some say in large maintenance expensesAvg cost for solid B/B+ prop in Birmingham (and some other markets but this is the one I have data for, since it's my market) is about $100k per door; you'll pay market price for a tenant-ready, fully rehabbed propertyPartnering with someone who does the on-the-ground stuff while you provide capitalCan be passive if your partner really knows their stuff, but more likely you'd be fairly involved with the choices madeMore control since you call the shots with your partnerYou can pick which markets and price points you're interested inPotential for higher returns (ie buying distressed and then forcing equity through renovation) if your partner is experienced and can execute consistentlyInvesting in a syndicateMany investors pool funds to invest in much bigger projects like commercial space or large MFRs, or in larger portfoliosVery passive, investors are not responsible for project vetting or management, but you have no controlMay have higher bar for entry, some syndicates require large investments and you'll need to have liquid cash on handBuying shares in a REITLike an ETF but comprised of real estate investmentsVery passive, but no control over which assets are held in the fundHighly liquid, easy to buy and trade, lower bar for entryEverything is a trade-off between passivity and control, time and money.

You'll need to separate your assets (either by using a Series-LLC or individual LLC with assessed distribution of assets by LLC) and you'll need to separate your passive (asset holding entities) from active operations (the property management side).After you took care of all this you can look into other more complicated/expensive strategies like you describe (equity stripping).Here is a diagram to help you on this quest - talk with @Scott Smith for professional advice on this: