I thought this would be the best way to make my dream come true.Congratulations, Sounds like you are off to a great start as a family!

However if you want to generate more cash flow putting 15% down will help you because not only is it a lower montly payment but when you hit 20% equity they will remove your PMI.If you put down 5% I would stronly encourage you living in the Airbnb if possible and renting out the home so you can generate even more incomeIf you look at it like this it'll helpMonthly payment < Potential income + current rentIf you can move and reduce your cost of living that is always great at the bare minimum they should equal each other in my opinion because at least you'll have equity if the market you are choosing is a strong equity market.

Hi Dan, Refinancing at a lower LTV will make your monthly expense lower which helps your monthly cashflow but will also help you to secure a lower interest rate so that could be a good starting point for you. 

But there are so many nuances to that topic I can't even start to delve into it here.Your 2-4 unit theory will be tough.  

Might be a good place to start! 

Prices less than that tend to require a lot more rehab budget or, are unlikely to have the proper mix of location, size, amenities, etc to have a strong ROI.If you follow @robbuilt from BP you'll see he just posted on his IG story a link to my most recent STR I launched for a client! 

Given that you'll want to have closer to 30%+ of the purchase price on hand for starting your first one.

We are initially looking at single families to start out but is a duplex a better option for some additional cash flow, or 2 smaller single families?

But… you could ask for a bank statement and/or a cellphone bill from say, 3 months after the other residency is supposed to have started.

Started yesterday after I sent a lease agreement to new tenants.