I've never had a problem getting closed on SFR - but Multi-family (Apartments) are different animals. 

I am currently a shift manager at arbys, but in school to become a Pastor, and hoping to rent out single/multi family houses.I’m here in Lenoir/Hickory area but I’m from a little town called East Jordan Mi. 

I often recommend this strategy to newbies if it's feasible for them.You can use this financing to purchase a multi-unit property (like a duplex, triplex, or if you're lucky a quadruplex) and you're able to count up to 90% of the current rents in the property towards your income.

But before I do that, I wanted to connect with someone from that market who could help me with learning about the multi-family market (2-4 units) in the MN market.

As of now my career path includes flipping some places, possibly have a multi-family unit, and then eventually get into development. 

We don't have for sure jobs set up, but a lender (Veterans United) says he might be able to get us accepted for a big (250,000+) loan for a multi-unit property.

(Example -- rent out spare bedrooms, or even a multi-unit duplex or triplex?)

My other idea was to purchase a multi unit in a solid area where I can move in and rent the other unit out.

This would make sense for me in a multi-unit but not on a $250K home since the payment/taxes is out of my budget.

You may also be able to take classes that focus on multi-family investing, house flipping and commercial real estate to help you gain base knowledge and give you the confidence to pull the trigger on starting your investing.