I would echo what James said above, and start with a good lender who will guide you (and not sell you), give you options, and if now is not the ideal time for you to pull the trigger, lay out a good road map to get you there. 

You really need to lay down rules about visitors, drugs and animals.

The next letter with new terms lay it all out there.   

Flooring, kitchen cabinets, paint, counters, bathroom vanity, tile, and appliances. 

I meet them in person and give them a tour laying out my criteria, rent etc etc. usually (but not always) the first person who tours rents the apartment. 

The experience in the group helped to have the project completed but remembering to flexible with numbers and not to agresssive makes it easier to deal with the unforeseen costs that lay in the shadows of such a project.

Can anyone tell me what the first steps of laying out a subdivision are and what potential problems should I address before I start building? 

I try to get a feel for the person and i spend a bit of time laying out my guidelines etc. 

They know the lay of this land better than anyone, and have all the resources you could possibly need. 

I have construction/maintenance experience as well as some limited marketing and rental experience, so I believe a small multifamily unit would be a perfect fit for me as a beginning investor.I like to work on property, and just finished installing large-format tile in the laundry room and kitchen at my mother's rental - so am not at all daunted by a multi-fixer (to a point).