Stacking would be ideal for us, start with a 2, then the following year acquire a 4 family and repeat.

@Abel Curiel I contacted a fellow investor, and he suggested I follow the 3-offer strategy: a cash offer well below asking/market, traditional financing slightly below asking/market, and owner financing at asking/market (or something along those lines).

Once you find the right fit, it's best to stay with that relationship, but when you're getting started, recommend putting in some legwork to find the best option.Best of luck to you and I look forward to following your journey!

Most important thing you need to know about contractors is the following.

Are the investment homes valued strictly by income?

Are you consistently following up with the marketing campaign?

You don't state if you are looking for these to be strictly student rentals. 

Follow the steps and you should have him out within 2 weeks.

Are there certain guidelines that I need to follow?

Following year adding a second property with 100k down, and either adding the profits from the first property to the down payment or keeping it for repairs etc.