Welcome @Sean Liszka I'm currently in the process of doing the renovations on a 4 plex in Illinois living in one of the units will absolutely help in financing it was a barrier to entry for me.

My mom is selling her home and I am considering becoming the buyer for two reasons: 1) She would sell it to me at a much lower price than another buyer. 2) I can see how I can take it and turn it into a profitable cash flow property.Let me explain: It's an old 1 family home that is very small BUT the lot is big enough to completely demolish the current home and build a house that can easily have 4-5 One Bedroom Apartments which can go for $1,300-1,500/ mo. in the town where the house is located. 

If you can go lower because they are going to have longer term interest, maybe try for that.

I expected some lenders to see that we are seeking to maximize our investment dollars by investing in a lower cost city. 

This is owner occupied situation so I don’t want to lower my standers too much but I also don’t want to have vacant for too long.

My goal right now is to get out of the hassles that come with the "lower end" properties and save on the management burden. 

The website is very friendly and the fees are lower. www.airdna.co is a great source for data that can help you choose a city.

Do you essentially just throw out those leads, or do you try to follow through with them despite being in areas with lower cash-buyer activity?

I would offer the 5 unit seller a lower price than he really would like, but I would buy it "As Is" with no contingencies.

Maybe you can get for a lower price?