The ability to pump paint directly out of the 1 or 5 gallon bucket saves a lot of time doing larger jobs.

With regards to building a 2-4 unit anywhere, has anyone been able to work with the municipality on the zoning to get the multi-family approved in a traditional single-family area, without it being a larger apartment complex?

Condos have always been location based, stay away from larger buildings that have high high fees

In theory, rents should remain stable and there may be a larger tenant pool to choose from (depending on the quality of your area).

We are looking into East Austin to purchase a house - preferably a duplex (or larger) that we can house hack or a home w/ an ADU built in it, that we can also house-hack.

Because of this I would most likely not have enough income to get approved for a larger loan needed to buy a multiunit.I live in California, and multi-units within the area and neighboring counties are more than I could qualify for on a loan(4k plus).

Should I wait another year to file a full year of my salary based income and be able to qualify for a larger loan to purchase a Multiunit?

(Larger house, private beach, family friendly) or diversify in “type” and maybe do the opposite....maybe aim for the couple travelers instead and get a smaller place in a hyper convenient location (right by downtown, restaurants, etc)Any thoughts appreciated!

I liked Jody's suggestion of going through an independent company vs. one of the larger companies.4). 

If it's a larger organization, feel free to inquire about their different staff qualifications.2.