Ideally looking for a 4-plex in Austin, Los Angeles, or Seattle (places where I'm able to work with my job).

Is a fee typical or what has anyone's experience been or any suggestions.?  

Forst off, you DO need a broker if you are going to lend, otherwise, you are likely in violation of state usury laws and other potential Federal laws.Bill mentioned being carfeul to stay within these laws and that is precisely the job of your broker, so YES, you need one as a lender or get your own broker's license.Secondly, if you come in not as a lender but an equity partner, then all these topics are null and void as you are not coming in as a lender but as a partner.

I always suggest people take small steps when getting into the investing game!  

Or am I just getting paid to do another job?

It has been booming for the past couple of years with strong job growth and population increase.

Great job @Stephanie Bell!

I will look into all of the suggestions and let you know which one I go with and how it works out!

A good GC should be doing this, but if they are not detail oriented, it may fall on the customer to make sure the details are there.It's so important to be ultra specific when writing a Scope Of Work and Contract for a construction project - of any size, even a small job can go south without the specifics being spelled out clearly. 

I'm of course bias, but we get a lot of Nor Cal investors here because we're driving distance but have low property taxes (that do NOT reassess on the sale), stable job growth, employment growth, land constraints that drive appreciation, and much more landlord friendly laws.