I would advise to carefully consider energy costs, zoning for legal TAT, increasing GET tax as well as high cost of on island management. 

Hi I’m looking for a multi family , duplex, triplex property to do house hacking for the very first time in Rhode Island.

One potential upside is that, being in Hawaii, you may have better connections to local banks in the islands.   

@Adam Solomon, and welcome to Bigger Pockets. 

But some landlords have still refused to accept vouchers, city officials said, which is against the law for buildings with six apartments or more.Last year, the city created a unit to combat such violations, and on Wednesday, the unit took its first legal action, filing lawsuits against the manager of Seaview Estates, a complex on Staten Island, and a real estate broker who rented apartments in two Bronx buildings.https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/06/20/nyregion/nyc-government-vouchers-lawsuit.html

A lot of family’s that come to the island want the typical “American” Home. 4 bed/3bath 2 car garage with a dishwasher.

A kitchen with an island and quartz countertops costs more that one without an island and granite. 

I live in long island, New York and ultimately looking for buy and hold properties, either SFH or small multi's. 

The 5 boroughs, Westchester and Long Island are extremely competitive for multifamily buy and holds.

She is asking me to partner with her to gain experience and help qualify for the loan.Factors to consider We live in Hawaii and she lives on a different island from I live and where the property is being managed.