For me, buying SFHs was too slow for what I needed, so I decided to go with MF.

We kept our house way too long (I guess we are slow learners) but even with less cash flow all things considered the 4-plex made us more money - it appreciated quicker and it was a lot easier to manage. 

I would definitely leverage the assets that you have, as the return on home equity is always zero, so withdraw it to reinvest for sure.In regards on what exactly to do with it, I think it all depends on what you want to do and how active you'd like to be in your investments.

Of course this was a slow play when each tenant moves out update the units and bill back electric.

I'd invest in yourself first and figure out what you can do to knockdown current living expenses....then looking at growing that savings ....and then getting some thing out of state.Boring answer that will probably be slow but at least if things go south you're not up at night figuring out how to pay it.

Rental Rates Projected To Increase For Dallas Apartments DALLAS (Multi-Housing News) – The North Texas multifamily market continued to show healthy fundamentals last year and into first quarter 2019, according to Yardi Matrix.However, supply dampened rent growth, slowing it to 2.8 percent year over year through March, slightly below the U.S. average.More than 26,800 units were delivered in 2018 for a new cycle high, with an additional 44,700 apartments underway as of March.

Hello again,So, my current bank requires me to wait a whole year before they calculate net income or net loss on my first rental property.Needless to say, I am not thrilled because I bought undervalue (20%) and forced a slight appreciation (5%) on the property.The bank also forced me to put a large down deposit (45%) on the property due to my debt to income ratio along with a 25 year mortgage at 4.5%.Thinking about doing a cash out refinance on the property with a 75% LTV in six months, but...Here is my question: Are there federal guidelines that regulate how slow or fast a bank is required to calculate net income or net less for my debt to income ratio?

If your market is slow, you might have a bit more leverage, but it's still a big ask. 

It can slow down your project by a week or 2 otherwise.

The 504 rate is awesomebut the SBA is damn slow and if your lender has not done them and is not a preferred lender they could easily screwup the deal.