Hi Frederico and welcome to BP.The first question is whether there are multifamily dwellings that are rentals as they could in theory be all condos.In any case, there is a simple reason for why and it’s because Italy doesn’t have the real estate investing culture we have in North America so there’s no sufficient interest in that to have a portal.Also, one of the main things that makes multifamily lucrative in the US is the loan products that are available and they’re not available in Italy.

My question regards down payment sizing, I am wondering if it would be a bad idea to put a larger downpayment on a house to increase cash flow as me and my brother don't see our college years as a time where we can dedicate our full energy into finding/managing deals (and if we do we could always refinance to pull out our equity).

If you increased your deposit maybe they will give it to you

Right, I wasn't clear enough.My main goal is to purchase properties in areas that I believe will develop in the future and the value of the properties will increase.In order to increase the cash flow (to cover current expenses) I am checking the possibility of doing arbitrage 

Cool opportunity you have their the most important dynamic to your deal is the NOIif you have a manager it does show a professional approach to managing the asset but that does not mean value will be more because of it.So to show more value you would need to add value to property tenants by improving the property in such a way that it increases the rental revenue to increase the value also depending on how you structure the deal upfront and the financing can play a key part in getting this deal the max value

Rates, escrow waivers, how long yo can lock, these are all the simple things that any lender can help you with.  

Simple paper work during processing takes care of that part. 

A Cost Segregation study is an IRS approved federal income tax tool that increases near term cash flow by utilizing shorter recovery periods for depreciation to accelerate return on investment.

If they are on par with what you are charging, increase the rent by $20, if they are more than what you are charging, increase it by $40. 

If you are pulling it out to spruce up a STR and think the increased cash flow will repay the loan - that timeline may not add up. there are a few other metrics I look at when thinking about second lien - and there may be a way to shore up more equity to make a second lien more appealing.