If you are talking about multi families in Boston, then you are talking about the most hyper competitive where the properties coming on the market will have a small cap rate and need to be closely speculated, also the market in Boston is closing quickly and is a good/great deal is becoming harder and harder to come by but not impossible.

From what I understand you will have an easier time refinancing the multi while you are still living there as it seems that it will be more difficult to find a lender to let you pull cash out of the investment, not impossible just easier if its still a primary residence. 

It's really hard to impossible to give you an answer, if your problem is based on numbers you haven't given us.

I know staying in that area will be near impossible given the prices, so we would be open to Richardson, Garland, Plano, or going south say Grand Prairie/Desoto area.

I closed on 9/20/18, and getting the Section 8 packets completed in that month was impossible.

We have been able to find some 1% rule deals, they are typically off-market and they are rare to find, but not impossible. 

It's not impossible find a house in a nice neighborhood with a low price because they're smaller, need some updates, etc., a little older than the average of the neighborhood, etc.

Whether any particular buyer cares is impossible to predict.  

Without knowing the town the property is located it is impossible to give a specific answer.

That said, not impossible.