I hope to purchase a multifamily in Reading or Easton PA outright, improve it, and use the income to pay off my student loans more quickly.  

I'm very educated and confident about RE and the concepts.

It’s available for college tuition, for home improvement, for paying down a mortgage…Investors gain access to solid, appreciating homes –without tenants or management costs.

Never stop improving!

Don't leave income on the table just because you will be taxed on it.3) Most real estate expenses are deductible in the year you pay them, especially if the benefit is immediate (like a utility payment or property tax).4) Some expenses are prorated through the life of the improvement, such as depreciable buildings and roof repairs.

Closing costs and holding costs will devour the rehabber's gross profit.And a rehabber is going to demand title insurance before sinking $50k in improvements into this thing.I recommend you move on to the next one!

This allows me to gain confident and experience slowly as a landlord.

In low/no appreciation markets, you want higher cash on cash returns that will offset the lack of appreciation and so you can at least exit the market in 7-10 years if you need to without losing money or you will have been able to save some of the cash flow to make capital improvements and continue to hold the property.Also, you want to buy at a discount so that much of the equity margin you need to avoid selling costs eating up all your aggregate cash flows is captured at purchase (and perhaps some significant gain above that).

When you can tell with a lot of confidence the ones that will have offer accepted in a week then you will know what a duplex through quadplex is worth.  

Adding another bathroom will improve the property value.