(Houses were still considered temporary in this way in Japan until very recently, and in medieval Europe, most peasant housing was also temporary and rebuilt on average every 30 years, so this isn't really a strange thing.) 

Mel,Generally Dwelling Fire policies are more than Homeowners policies (generally more claims on non-owner occupied properties.  

My mortgage lender is telling me that we would have to put 30% down on a conventional loan to purchase a multi-family even if it will be owner occupied.

I notice some wholesalers are targeting on-market listings, so why wouldn't/shouldn't a listing agent who is also an investor be able to do the same if they have qualified cash buyers for a occupied rental investment property?

They often outperform individual investors if we exclude owner-occupied financing mechanisms which you wouldn't be able to use at scale with $4M anyways.TLDR:You can invest privately through real estate funds.

My partner and I will be landlord occupying.

Purchased my first Duplex in September 2020 and owner-occupy.

Moving every year or two due to buying another house at owner occupied rates is inconvenient, but can be a real wealth builder.My multimillion $ real estate investor neighbor just passed away and she and her husband moved 27 times in the same town during their marriage. 

FHA allows a 3.5% down payment on 1-4 units, owner occupied only. 

Goal now is to scale so we can start saying “yes” more then “sorry, we are 100% occupied”.In short, every company has corporate housing needs.