A condo or townhome may be easier than a larger single family like a 7-9 bedroom, but those sizes are the real money makers (IMO).

A better solution is redeveloping downtown areas to allow larger apartments and condos.

I'm looking at passive investments of smaller strip malls populated with combination of chain retails and small local businesses, and with a larger shadow tenant (Walmart, Target, etc.). 

If you have something larger than 6 units, how long did it take to acquire that property?

I'm looking at passive investments of smaller strip malls populated with combination of chain retails and small local businesses, and with a larger shadow tenant (Walmart, Target, etc.).

Or do something a little more creative like using a 203k limited loan to incorporate some of the larger costs (Furnace Mainly) directly into the mortgage vs out of my pocket in the future. 

Would a strip mall directly adjacent to a larger gas station raise any red flags? 

For larger properties I’d recommend Ubiquiti mesh at the high end or Eero at the middle.

There are larger national or regional lenders that you can find with google searches.

I'd prefer to wholesale in the meantime to build a larger down payment as well.