I have roughly $100k saved up but would like to raise capital for deals so I can buy more attractive properties and scale faster.

He is a sponsor for Orlando Real Producers and his team does a phenomenal job.  

Make seller financing more attractive, you could offer paying a higher interest rate to the seller.

My other strategy, which seems way too unwieldy and unfocused, has been to open Google Maps, and pick random cities that I have either heard of, or are adjacent to population centers or natural attractions (mountains, lakes, parks etc), and start looking at Zillow and comparing historical data for the props I see listed to try to gauge where we might be on the bell curve of appreciation.

I was able to get vacation home financing for 10% down and an attractive 3.125% 30 year conventional loan  on a purchase price of $415K. 

Meaning, if no mice were in the unit prior to them moving in they might have brought them with them or done something to attract them. 

While she has little to contribute financially, I will be providing the financing, she has half interest in our primary residence that is worth about $250,000 and is income producing, and $35,000 in retirement funds for assets.

Don't know anyone in that area, but many OOS investors set themselves up for failure because they don't truly take the time to understand:1) The Class of the NEIGHBORHOOD they are buying in - which is relative to the overall area.2) The Class of the PROPERTY they are buying - which is relative to the overall area.3) The Class of the TENANT POOL the Neighborhood & Property will attract - which is relative to the overall area.4) The Class of the CONTRACTORS that will work on their Property, given the Neighborhood location - which is relative to the overall area.5) The Class of the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (PMC) that will manage their Property, given the Neighborhood location and the Tenants it will attract - which is relative to the overall area.6) That OOS property Class rankings are usually vastly different than the local market they live in.7) That a Class X NEIGHBORHOOD will have mostly Class X PROPERTIES, which will only attract Class X TENANTS, CONTRACTORS AND PMCs and deliver Class X RESULTS.8) Class A is relatively easy to manage, can even be DIY remote managed from another state.9) Class B usually also okay, but needs more attention from owner and/or PMC10) Class C can be relatively successful with a great PMC (do NOT hire the cheapest!)

That may have caused small multis to look comparatively less attractive, when that is not necessarily the case.

Sometimes it happens and sometimes it does not.In this case, the cash-on-cash return on the 4-unit must be terrible, but the 3-unit sounds like it could be attractive.