@Benjamin Zwiebel the market where you choose to invest is the biggest factor in whether an short term rental is a smart investment.

It's really about larger commercial properties but I think a lot of it applies to smaller multi-family.

Will I wire funds to the exchange website to record the assignment or should I use a local escrow agent that I choose myself.

You could afford a multi-family property in the $1MM dollar range.

@Stephen RookerA good rule of thumb to use is $100/sqft, though keep in mind there are a significant number of factors that will effect the end number, especially with multi unit construction.  

Specifically I’d like to know how you would present the offer I have in mind based on the information below.I am a newbie.4 unit class B multi-family in a class B location (close to downtown)List price – $299k.

I noticed that we also have to choose what our down payment percentage is (which I put in 5%), so I wasn't sure if the way I'm doing it is including the 5% down payment in both sectionsThanks for any and all advice!

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Later down the road, if you choose to get married and have/adopt kids, you can move into a house and now you have a multi-family property on the side that will continue to make you money.

I plan on renting the other units out in a multi family and then sharing my unit with roommates to get to even/positive CF.