I'm currently looking in South Sacramento & Del Paso Heights in Sac, and also in parts of Stockton.

One of the things I would take into consideration would be maintenance costs so a 1940s property makes me question the age of the plumbing and electrical, two of the most expensive problems to have.

For any other other Raleigh locals you can take the Greenway survey here: https://raleighnc.gov/greenways2020Multifamily housing opportunities have mostly passed in Raleigh, there are many well designed units in established neighborhoods such as Historic Oakwood, Boylan Heights, and other pocket neighborhoods.

Many thanks for your consideration.

What makes my situation a little ambiguous is that I am about smack in the middle ..Im in my mid 40s, I earn a considerable income at my corporate job but took me a bit to get here.

(Montclare, Old Irving Park, Portage Park, Harwood Heights, Belmont Cragin)  We did several full gut rehabs on 60's/70's properties that had been owned by the same person for 20-30+ years. 

One lender told me that the 75% would be based off of all three unit rents and another lender told me these rules don't apply if I don't need to include the rent into my income considerations.  

All of those things are Covid related, and they are absolutely factors to take into consideration.

Or other areas like Jackson Heights, Woodside, etc?

If you are simply contracting a GC, then your value add is considerably less.Once the property goes into service, if you are going to be the PM - find, screen, place, & manage tenants -  then 10% of effective gross revenue would be fair on a single small property.