if i had half a million to invest into property and did not know where to start, would it be wiser to start by buying an apartment complex then go from there or would it be wiser to buy multiple four plexs and then move up from there where after i have payed off all of the properties i am able to cover the mortgage for the large property to help pay it off faster.

Houses are going under contract even faster (as if that's even possible).

A ton of wholesalers and flippers, but not a lot of developers.  1) I've never tried getting financing to buy the land, I typically buy my land cash so I'm not incurring holing cost while waiting for approval 2) it should not be difficult to get a construction loan, I know lending one offers new construction loan, for my deals I've got a private  lender that borrows me money 3) The way I structure my deals, I'm paying out of pocket for all soft cost engineering, architect,  soil test, impact fees, I left out 2 critical steps on my initial write up Soil test: I'm ordering a soil test as soon I put the lot under contract, the cost is about $500, the county would want to see the result of the test when submitting your stormwater management plan Impact fee: Make sure to check with your county, some counties have them and some don't impact fees could be huge, in my county depend on where you build impact fees could be as much as $25k or $12k 4) I try to get as much as I can get done while under contract, In my county the typical turn around time is about 4months, while in Baltimore county I know builders that will close today and break ground the very next day, they have a faster permit process 

Remember, you can always pay it back faster. 

I can tomorrow, but figured since it's Sunday, I'd ask here to see if I could get a faster response.

I'm not married, but I plan on marrying my girlfriend one day, and I know I would take her over getting deals faster any day.

Therefore I need to get into those units and renovate to earn those premium rents and the faster I can execute my business plan and double the NOI of this asset the faster I can force the appreciation of this property and increase the valuation and complete a cash-out refinance and get my capital back ( 70k down payment and 80k of repairs) which will then allow me to re-deploy into a larger multi-family asset.Apt#2 will be complete on 1/15 and i have that already pre-rented to an existing tenant and when they move I will start renovations on their old apartment.

This strategy would allow you to reduce or eliminate your housing cost, and you can save faster. 

We filed for an exemption but filed the last week of June & with the average wait time of 6-8 weeks/current delays with the IRS - I was informed by them to e-file online & possibly get the transcript faster with a CPA who has e-file access. 

Nevada may be a bit cheaper than the bigger markets of TX, but I would venture to say TX will appreciate faster.