(Example -- rent out spare bedrooms, or even a multi-unit duplex or triplex?)

My other idea was to purchase a multi unit in a solid area where I can move in and rent the other unit out.

This would make sense for me in a multi-unit but not on a $250K home since the payment/taxes is out of my budget.

You may also be able to take classes that focus on multi-family investing, house flipping and commercial real estate to help you gain base knowledge and give you the confidence to pull the trigger on starting your investing. 

they can spend a hundred bucks and on line  get a quack Dr. from the other side of the country to give an ESA paper . 

But once each tenants lease comes up let them know that we are doing small work to property and raising the rent by $100 bucks, or maybe more. 

I bought my first 3fam multi and have heard about tenant proofing before briefly.

If it's a multi-unit and the tenants rent a separate unit from you, tenants should pay their own utilities.

No, why would it be.....they got building permits for a multi story building.

Real Estate GoalsEveryday I feel the time slipping away with my kids.Our goal is to obtain $5k/ month in cash flow in 5 years through rentals in single families, multi-families and apartment buildings in the Cincinnati area.