My mother owns 9 acres in a small rural town in MS.

I am located in Fort Worth, TX & my end goal as a real estate investor is to have a 100 door rental portfolio consisting of small 8-20 unit apartment complexes.My plan is to build up a rental portfolio, starting with 2-4 unit properties, & eventually sell those to leverage for larger properties.

It is a duplex that is small, 1,100 sqft.

The tiny home is around $70k and the small lot is around $70k.

The preliminary information I have about the potential seller is that they're seeking to reinvest in a different locale, so looking to dump all properties in location A to reinvest in location B.Some questions I have:Big bank vs small[er] bank vs private lender - who, if any, would be most inclined to view this as a basket for a single mortgage?

Looking for advice on HELOC's.  I recently used a HELOC for a down payment on a duplex.  Now I have taken an addition line out on our house and wondering what is best with using this money for purchasing another prope...

Also most subcontractors dislike multiple small trips for work so they will upcharge you for everytime they have to come back.  

No, but we can do better if used the money wisely.My advice is never pay cash unless the deal is so small that it is not worth the effort to get the loan. 

As others have said, YMMV depending on what it actually currently looks like and your market, but for me renovated kitchens help sell rentals that are otherwise "idiosyncratic"  walkups with very small bedrooms, slanted floors, uneven walls or sometimes all of the above.

Now that I feel I have decent knowledge base I am excited to start meeting other investors and developing relationships to help take me to the next level.I am 31 years old, married with 2 small kids, and work as a Physical Therapist overseeing a clinic in the west suburbs of Chicago.