You can often get better deals on a 50-unit, but you will have lower operational efficiency than you might have on a 200-unit. 

you are better off just putting your name on the first 10, then your wife on the other 10, 

I have one property struggling at 0% currently but working rates and my expectation is May will be 75% or better on all properties.   

Very helpful question that I'm curious to follow - my suggestion would be to work with a local tax professional + 1031 qualified intermediary to better assess your personal situation. 

it's just repurposing your housing payment. yes buy primary and househack where one lives is much better choice.not having primary and buying rental OOS is one of the worst decision can be made.

You have a lot better/cheaper lending options with a higher score.

So buying newer, better properties, with more amenities, and reducing my workload. 

I'm going to look at 3 more properties tomorrow and after getting a better handle on numbers in the last few days, we should be putting in some offers very shortly!

A better plan would be buy it for 500k, fix the kitchen/baths and paint the exterior/interior and then try the refi about 8 months later.

But as your portfolio builds bigger and the property management company charges per property and not per portfolio, I would think having your own team gives you a better sense of control or a better overview of your properties wouldn't it?