It might be worth considering though, that this is an affluent area of an expensive state (CA) and might be a lot harder, financially, to break in to.Area B: This is not a distinct area, but a general idea. 

The property values range between $250k-$320k.Most of our tenants in the LTO program are families that were hit by the recession and haven't bounced back financially in terms of qualifying for a non-conventional loan.  

As mentioned, unless you have a long successful track record the bank is going to require you to personally guarantee a loan to your LLC and it will very likely take into account your own personal financial situation.

Paying late because they are short is a tenant prioritising "other" financial responsibilities ahead of their commitment to their landlord.

My goal is to at least double my units by the end of this year, and achieve full financial freedom for my family by 2026... though I'm hopeful that as I keep learning and growing, it will snowball even faster than that.

I’m finally in a place financially where I can start diving in on my own, so I’m looking for any input on local HML’s that are willing to work with a relatively green investor and that others have had good luck with. 

This is not a fast or easy road to financial success.

The seller has acquired the zoning variance to legally have a multi unit, However the setup of the units is still very inefficient and could potentially be leveraged into 5 units with some rehab.One advantage that this property has for me financially is that I can buy it as an owner occupied and pay little down payment.

They called it a pyramid scheme, said they had financial issues, etc. 

Thanks @James A. for the advice, I'm definitely leaning towards the partnership route both for the financial reasons as well as the support in splitting the risk/workload.