They are used here by a lot of apartment complexes and property management companies. 

Does anyone have experience with owning and/or managing small multi-family complexes that allow short term (1 week) rentals?

Now I own a few rental houses and am looking at exchanging them for a large apartment complex.

We're looking to buy apartment complexes with investor money and it's one of the cities we're considering.

It's about how to set up and structure a business, how to find the money to do deals, how money works, how to pay off installment debt in 1/3 of the time without increasing your payments, tax liens and deeds, buying  notes and mortgages, how to find and buy apartment complexes, find people to manage them, how to manage those managers, commercial real estate and much more. 

@Todd WillhoiteYou are correct that there is a control group issue and there is no avenue to establish a Solo 401(k) for you.An ERISA 401(k) offering employee coverage such as a safe harbor 401(k) would be an option, but self-directing such a vehicle is generally complex, expensive, and very limiting as to what portion of plan funds can be placed in non-traditional assets.A self-directed IRA would be your best option.  

Go get some leases from your local apartment complexes.  

When an opportunity arises, where are you going to get the money to buy that sweet first home?

WA Attorney General: Racist for landlords not to rent to felonsA recent court filing indicates that the Washington State Attorney General’s Office believes that denying a prospective tenant with a felony conviction is racially discriminatory.A member of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Unit served a Consent Decree on Dobler Management Company, a property management firm in Tacoma, after conducting a simulated test on whether the landlord was illegally discriminating against potential tenants.According to the briefing sent to KTTH’s Todd Herman, in May, the state asked a tester to follow up on a rental property advertisement on Craigslist, which said the apartment complex would automatically deny renters with a felony record.

When was the last time the complex had a inspection done of common areas??