But if you found a good spot, I can see that being an awesome investment (and hello to low-maintenance!).  

That is 10-20 year old duplex and fourplex that are relativley low maintenance.

I've been trying to find homes that are on the newer side so maintenance isn’t a huge issue, and SFR buy and hold makes sense.

I know that Realtor.com says that there is still growth this year...I like the idea of the SFR and less maintenance on newer homes... but I was really wanting to move away from the SFR and get some Multis.

Think of all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

Don't write your options off though, you could do a 203k loan which would include both the property and the maintenance budget!

Its really about learning what your connections like or perhaps getting a good understanding of the most common ones and having them ready. 

First always seek legal counsel with an attorney:ask them the pros & cons of some of the following:1) Debt: secure a loan against the property you receive interest payments.2) Equity: record an option to buy the property (ex. you have the option to buy the property for $115k for a specified time period.3) Purchase a partial ownership interest, ex. tenant in common ownership of 50% of equity4) combo equity participation loan , you share in the upside equity.

So it would be pretty common for you to wait the one year only to find yourself looking for anther tenant anyways.

Not allowing wet over dry renovations is very common.