While though this situation is not same that news story has placed a spot light on this industry and all are being watch.  

And take your time to find a good agent, there are many, but not many great ones.An agent can set you up with an MLS portal, no need to be active at that point, you can be on the sideline for a year and just watch the mls.A great agent will also know the best local lenders.Once you are ready to see properties, tell your agent, pretty simple.

The reduction of tax benefits must be considered if you want to compare apples to apples.

Have been watching it for the last couple of years while still educating and trying to figure out how to get my wife on board.

I watched tons of how-to videos that walked me step by step through many things I had never done.5) If you are rehabbing and on the fence about hiring out some of the work, get to know some of the maintenance folks at large apartment complexes nearby.

Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?

This approach is dependent on zoning/code enforcement saying it's acceptable.As far as your numbers - apples to apples... if you do it as a MF, then your renovation costs are the MF costs, and the analysis is as a MF property..

When I started analyzing deals 2 weeks ago (and I just started 2 weeks ago) I thought 1-3% COC (Cash on Cash ROI) and $100 - $200 Monthly Cashflow was good.After watching a few Webinars (Replays located in the Pro section) @Brandon Turner mentions he looks for minimum 12% COC and $400 Monthly Cashflow, He always does an analysis in the WebinarsYou can also review the The Best Beginner’s Real Estate Investing Course Online Here is the specific course on The BiggerPockets Property Analysis SoftwareIt's hard to say what numbers specifically work for you, but with Brandon's advice I know now what to look for to make sure:Get good CashflowExpenses, Repairs are coveredMortgage, Property Tax is coveredCapEx, Vacancies is coveredDefinitely don't skip out on the expenses, CapEx, Vacancies, if you don't know how much property managers cost call around and see what they charge.I called 6 before I found one with a flat $100 fee per month to manage the property.

There are a few around town and Rino makes sense because it is still almost grungy enough no one cares - but try to build one in LoHi or Jeff park and watch the neighbors go nuts.

Would like the learning on hands, not watching video's all day either.