You should take some time to search the BP site, read through the Ultimate bigginers guide, and if you want to do some creative deals the no/low money down book (I just finished it & it was great.You said multifamily, but how many units/doors are you looking to start with?  

We created a one of a kind house but were ultimately held back significantly by the appraisal.

Fill in the foundation below.Check out the Start Here page http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere Check out BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide - A fantastic free book that walks through many of the key topics of real estate investing.Check out the free BiggerPockets Podcast - A weekly podcast with interviews and a ton of great advice.

The broker, which may have different titles depending on the market or state that you are in, is the one that is ultimately responsible for your transaction, and for the actions or inactions of the agents that work them.

This caused us to do more research and ultimately decided to use a different insurance company and PM.

I truly feel like This would be a great starting point for my investment portfolio, also when my friend decides to sell in the future I'll have first dibs on that unit as well ultimately owning the duplex.

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

I also had my doubts about purchasing in NY because of the high prices and not-so-friendly landlord-tenant laws but ultimately I choose to invest here because I have a general knowledge of the area, and because it was my first investment I felt that I needed to look at every detail of the house I was going to purchase. 

It probably happened on Dec 23rd as we started getting no-water calls late in the afternoon of Christmas eve, and it quickly turned into a report of a pipe burst, which ultimately became three burst pipes.

We have two kids (13,4) and we still ultimately decided to remodel the lower level and live in it, so we could rent by room upstairs.