So the goal would be to have it rented during spring, summer, fall..and maybe I'd use it for a month or so during the winter to escape the northeast.

If you have a loss from syndication investment ( the entire project went bust) can you use that loss (from the final K-1) to offset your regular W-2 income ? 

My goal this year is to establish myself as a multifamily property investor with a 2-4 unit property. 

Now, if your goal is to build a nice net worth, then I would explore more expensive markets like Southern California, Seattle, etc.

Ultimately, the choice will depend on your goals. 

Don't know anything about them but per my calculations they are taking 27.2% of the capital appreciation on the New Braunfels deal at the end per their projections which seem optimistic in this oversupplied environment, (Austin MSA with largest new multi-family projects coming out this year in the country ,8% of total existing stock and already seeing rent rate declines of near 10%in the city so far) and they are taking a big chunk of the monthly cash on cash as the preferred payouts for their 3 different classes are well below the projected cash on cash total.

Investigate the reasons behind vacancies before proceeding.Unreliable Cash Flow: Inconsistent or declining cash flow projections may suggest unrealistic expectations or hidden expenses.

Both of these are on-going issues we are battling but we are view these as more challenges for us to overcome to be able to reach our end goal and intend on meeting these challenges head on.

I am just beginning to work towards my own investment goals. 

Initial goal was early retirement but i don't know or think that's totally realistic at this point.