Think about moving into a building with several units close by to help pay for where you live.

I am currently looking to buy a 2-4 unit building in Fort Lauderdale area.

I helped a young kid purchase a 4-unit he was going to house hack and manage, so I got him a nice Dewalt drill set. 

As a non owner occupied property minimum down payments are:Conventional (single family) - 15%Conventional (multifamily 2-4 units) - 20%Non-QM (1-4 units) - 20%Certain Non-QM DSCR products allow the use of gifted funds for your down payment. 

While shopping for a small multi-family building (3 or 4 units), I would like to get an inspection of the building to get an estimate of repair costs if any problems are found (foundation, roof, electrical, plumbing, heating). 

New builds typically tend to appreciate faster and demand a higher rent than average for an area compared to older units (we often see a higher quality tenant(s) in new builds as well).If you were to buy an already built 4 plex are you expecting any immediate or mid term rehab and what are the projected rent rates and rough estimate for annual appreciation.

Two of the units are occupied by cash paying tenants at 1500.00 a month.

I'm glad to see you're considering a multifamily home in Portland—it's a fantastic way to get started.Portland can indeed be a bit tricky for multifamily properties, particularly with the current market conditions and tenant-occupied units.

I'm looking to buy my first property as a house hack ideally a 3 or 4 unit, and I have what could be a 3-5% down payment saved right now.

You can also take out a HELOC on an investment property as long as it is a 1-4 Unit and the total CLTV is not over 70%.