I have no past real estate experience outside of paying rent BUT I'm currently looking to get my start in investing through wholesaling and scaling my business up to a focus on renting/flipping muti-family units and some single family flips and wholesales.

Live in is a good strategy especially if you will live there for 2 years or longer (section 121 of the Tax code) you will not pay tax on gains up to $250K single or $500K married, keeping that in mind markets change, so consider where we are and where you think you will be 2 years from now. also consider if you are there less than 2 years the gains are taxable at a very high rate about 1/3 or more of net profit for most people.

Then, tenants use a mix of baseboards and space heaters to cover the rest on their own dime.On my last two rehabs, we've separated plumbing to the units so that we can pay a single city base charge, but then submeter the units down the road to do RUBS.We also tried, at one property, simply sending a group email each month sharing what our heat bill was and how that compared to the previous year.

Would it be possible to set up a single-owner LLC to buy a property and still get a loan under a personal name? 

C+ to B- neighborhood with other single families in the area.

Adding mulch to flower/planter beds is good tooFor a single family home, a couple thousand dollar investment should yield a good curb appeal return. 

No unit or Townhouse Building there on shall be occupied and used except for single family residential purposes by the Owners, their tenants and social guests, and no trade or business shall be conducted therein, which impacts upon or involves the use of, the common areas"I don't see where it explicitly prohibits STRs, but don't want to get on the wrong foot with the HOA.

But those questions paled in comparison to the lender wanting full documentation to support those funds.  

Currently developing new construction single family homes in both Summit and Montclair, and building a 3-family in ironbound section of Newark.

That way i can use it when i want and collect income when i'm away.So my question is is it a good idea to have a single air b and b apartment in a small multi unit buildon?