I hope I can gain as much knowledge from each of you.

Capital gains taxes?

I don't see how the Seller gains anything here. 

If we built a spec house we could either sell when finished and take the tax hit on gains or 1031 exchange it, or live in it for two years (before or after construction) and qualify for the full capital gains exemption because we lived there for a few years before it was a rental.  

ROI is approximately 6 to 7 years, so any utility savings after that is a gain...I really don't care after 6++ years as I may not keep the apt, so it might be a value add when selling [also NOI would be better after smaller utility bill].

House hack a  4 plex, improve credit score to 700, triple my income from last yearProgress towards this goal:Working on increasing my income from my career in real estate and also doing some credit repair this will help me more so for the upcoming years and help gain some credibility with lenders.

You can still use similar techniques for quick gains on buy and holds, though.

In the SF and East Bay Area, employment gains, economic activity, and real estate price appreciation peaked in 2012, and has been on a decline since.

I gained a ton of info as to where to get money to start up and the basic principles of flipping houses.

I am trying to go into this investment with the mindset that we are making passive income first, gaining equity second, and whatever we get appreciation wise is icing on the cake.