A few years ago, when financing was low for construction, there were huge apartment complexes going up in Ithaca, NY but were bound to sit vacant for awhile.

The complex I was renting from awhile back wanted me to add my child once he turned 18 and I thought it was foolish.

Couldn't you buy the 2-4 unit as your primary residence and then by the apartment complex? 

It is how I learn to make complex things a bit more simple for me.

It's also entirely possible that the best end-lender @ 70% LTV wasn't the best end-lender @ 80% LTV, but with 3 weeks to go there's not necessarily time to switch who it's being brokered to, depending on the complexity of the financing etc.

I'm also interested on how to put deals together buy raising capital for complex RE/Development projects.

I think I know the type of investing I want to get into short term (duplex, triplex, 4plex) and long term (apartment complexes and commercial retail).

By then I will be on to the newest investment tend and will need strong well trained investors under me to handle bigger more complexed deals.  

That could be a pain and will require a complex management system.For the investor looking to continually scale up and buy larger and larger commercial properties, he gets to take advantage of scale with each purchase, and the economics of having a larger investment in one, easier to manage location.The big commercial investor, however, might see disadvantage in that if he continues to scale, each purchase is of a larger and new type.

That being said, my youngest daughter recently rented an apartment in a 9 unit complex near UCLA.