I don't think it hurts to start with a single family or two and grow from there. 

We found a couple of deals including a single family home priced well bellow tax assessment with lots of updates and with a little TLC it will have about $35000 in equity and will cask flow $210 off the bat.

I'm thinking a single unit or affordable duplex, however, I am not sure what part of NY to look.

It was getting cold he said ok I also explained to him the outside ac  fan had a Edison summer saver plans which turns the fan off at certain times he under stood but wanted the box off so I called Edison And had the box taken off problem solved .a week after  i got a call from tenents saying they got a message via text from the water company stating continuing runner water possible leak.so I went noticed they were running a swamp cooler 24/7 they said the ac bill was high so weve been using a swamp cooler,and they filled up a above ground pool .i asked them did they call the water company to let them know of the pool fill up they said they didn’t.i called the water company to talk to them about the running water text my tenants got and explained to them  they run a swamp cooler that runs on the water faucet and they fillled a pool ,and all the household water use from  big family.the water company said that’s why there getting that text.they also said that for me to talk about there account water usage they have to call and give permission so I asked the tenants they refused.its gets better,I get another call from the tenants now sayin one of the toilets are making a noise.so thinking the worst I go just a stuck handle.so while I was here I th ought I might as well change out  all fill valves and floaters for all three bathrOoms so I did.was there a few hours making sure they were running properly and leaks.i remind you that was on a  Thursday.on Monday my tenants send me a bill via picture text from  a plumber saying all toilets leaking cleaned out all fill valves because they were clog and put in new flappers leak fixed.i asked the tenants why’ didn’t he cal l me he  had no excuse,so  I called the plumber he said they clogged  and he cha changed the flappers.so i come  Back how’s that if I just put all of that new four days Pryor on Thursday he couldn’t answer me free.now im getting I’m not  paying  my water bill because of the leak.now they sent me there water bill .with previous charges from there old residents claiming it as part of  a leak.do they think I’m stupid,there clearly trying to scam me.they won’t  Give me permission to talk to the water company and  the plumber is his good friend.

It looks like 25% down on multi family and 15-20% for single family for the down payment with convention financing.  

The average appreciation for the last 5 years from a single San Diego SFR exceeds the cash flow from the average mid west SFR for the last 50 years.  

Would you buy beat up houses and flip small single family homes?

A year later, I purchased a single family house and turned it into a rental in 2017. 

@Kyle AndersonAwesome So for your alternative investment, are you thinking single family home?

Short term, I am interested in single and multi family properties.