The deal cash flows minimally initially then after the second and third mortgages are paid off it becomes a cash flow cow.

I understand the challenges and competition in this field and am willing to put in the time and effort to learn and grow.If you have any advice on how someone in my position could gain practical experience or alternative ways to get started in real estate without significant initial capital, I’d be eager to hear your thoughts.Thank you for your time! 

My initial thought here was seller finance, as @Ryan Irwin mentioned!

Quote from @Kristin Boekhoff: I am about to purchase my first small multifamily (5-unit) property and plan on initially managing it myself.

I do understand real estate is not a " passive" investment and does take hands on work with regards to even managing a the property manager.My initial thought was/is (given my current status) that the optimal strategy would be to look into turnkey properties to get started and once I move back into the states get into/invest in more areas of real estate investing.  

Initially they balked, but eventually they relented* We kept our inspection contingency to void (not negotiate), and included a financing contingencyHow did you finance this deal?

While I secured the initial financing for the property, I have two other partners/groupings (a total of 6 people) that are contributing to the closing. 

Details here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/1214849-dmv-...I recommend checking them all out initially, I bet you'll have a lot of fun networking!

And maybe in 20 years when the property sells it could be taxed differently, but not sure since it was initially a primary home. 

We plan to go the most cost-effective route initially, and then adjust later as we build more experience/reserves.Thanks again for all the great feedback!