Interview several, including some small local banks, they may be more relationship focused than the larger banks.  

I think buying a small multi-family and living in one of the units can be a great way to start. 

The goal being to build a new home for me and my family to live in with as small of a mortgage as possible.

(Interestingly, there has been a small spike in valuations of flips on the outer limits of the neighborhood. 

DOES ANYBODY HAVE AN INTRODUCTION TEMPLATE LETTER FOR TAKING OVER THE MANAGEMENT OF A SMALL APARTMENT BUILDING?

Sometimes in a small business everything starts growing quickly and you find yourself unprepared! 

With some staging and paint, we were able to sell our previous personal residence at a small profit, and use the profit to leverage 3 more properties: 2 as investments, and one as our (downsized) personal residence at the time.

All three units are 4-bed, 4-bath three-storey houses with small own yards, garages and a common area for BBQ.

I'm pulling about a quarter mil out of some SFRs and trying to decide on buying a block of SFRs in Birmingham or stepping up to a small multi in Northern Jersey.

@Jameson Sullivan, I am a small time investor with only three properties.