Keep in mind that depending on what market you are looking at, those 2-4 unit buildings may be houses that were haphazardly subdivided to create more units.  

Build a family tree on ancestry.com If she is the only heir, she is the one to go to.First thing, the most obvious reason she is not wanting to do anything is because it’s not real to her.

You will build skills and experience in acquiring and managing the duplexes that will help you with real estate projects large and small. 

Build a home and then purchase that product with a personal conventional or FHA loan? 

I'm not sure I look at it as screwing the landlord unless you believe a restaurant screws the landlord the lease the building from to run their business.

I am building a brewery / restaurant in my home town.

Get rid of debt, build a budget, and save.

I know a lot of people have been successful using a lot of debt to build their portfolio it's just not the way I do things.

I wouldn't spend too much time on low money down and how to find a deal, I would focus on building your own personal equity so you don't need to do that.

Do most newbies normally hire out a GC to build their first house?