My suggestion if your goal is to free up some equity to use for another purchase - start small with the single family home with a cash out refinance.

This is a move in the right direction.

A big challenge given the value is getting financing - this is too small for most HMLs I know.

It's in on a Main St in an small town in NJ.

But, if doing small row-style townhome clusters, call it 4 and 6 unit clusters.

My name is Jaedon Carlisle.I am a new investor looking for 4-plexes and small commerical units.I currently reside in Redding as well and I would be very interested in meetups or any existing groups.As mentioned above, I have noticed very little inventory and the inventory that exists seems to be very expesnive relative to what I believe constitutes a good deal (at least in my inexperienced view).I am 26 and looking to make this my career.

You can learn just about anything you need to complete a small project off YouTube and with the right tools.  

And if it were set up where everything went through a title company so the buyer pays the title company, they manage the buyer's loan (from me), and the title company ensures my mortgage is paid without my direct involvement... what parts of the transaction would feel risky or not worth the headache to you? 

These increases are not direct costs like buying toasters from China, but rather input costs.

The more mature platforms that are designed for landlords/property managers include Rentec Direct, Buildium, Appfolio, and Rent Manager.