Kessler,the man credited with coining the term  Creative Real Estate,related how he made $250,000 on his first deal by putting a multi-million dollars commercial property under contract for....$100.

Multi family townhomes are all over the place and cheap (for good reason).

Congrats I am happy that you succeeded and was able to choose good investing options.

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bp The second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

I'd like to know what are some people's experiences with using this tool to acquire multi family properties in this market. 

I've been reading many of the posts here and they are super helpful, though the vast majority are from the owner/investors's perspective.I am interested in a building a STR multi property business. 

Find out if she's willing to do that for 3-4 years, then you guys could have multiple multi-family investments, then buy a primary home in a good school district when your son or daughter is about to start school. 

Get an official Loan Estimate before choosing a loan.

Please click on the links, give them a read, and share your thoughts in the comments.First is a post that I feel will help not get overwhelmed with the amount of info that is here on BP:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52761-the-simple-guide-to-getting-started-on-bpThe second is a post that will help get you focused with your real estate investing goals:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/5868/52743-im-new-to-bp-any-advice-would-be-appriciatedThe last one is a post that will help you choose an “investor friendly” real estate agent.

Multi family is of interest to me as well.