It is assumed by the state that any rental larger than a 1 bedroom will fall into this category at some point because of the anti-discrimination laws that prevent landlords from refusing a family because they have a child.

I got to thinking that this could potentially be a decent way for someone like myself with limited funding to build more savings to invest into larger projects and really get the ball rolling.

I know a HELOC was mentioned or taking from retirement accounts but I wouldn't because a HELOC requires equity (i.e. larger down payment) and/or appreciation and it sounds like you won't have much of either to maximize growth and your cash on cash return in your cash flow market.

The ones i am finding only have larger cities.

There aren't a lot of multi-family homes in my immediate area other than larger apartment complexes. 

The ability to pump paint directly out of the 1 or 5 gallon bucket saves a lot of time doing larger jobs.

With regards to building a 2-4 unit anywhere, has anyone been able to work with the municipality on the zoning to get the multi-family approved in a traditional single-family area, without it being a larger apartment complex?

Condos have always been location based, stay away from larger buildings that have high high fees

In theory, rents should remain stable and there may be a larger tenant pool to choose from (depending on the quality of your area).

We are looking into East Austin to purchase a house - preferably a duplex (or larger) that we can house hack or a home w/ an ADU built in it, that we can also house-hack.