Hey James, Another way to look at would be rather than adjusting your criteria to match current market realities, adjusting your approach to deal flow in order to achieve your stated goals.

I am only a few years into the investment game and looking to hear from other investors if this makes sense or if theres a better approach to what I want to achieve (ultimately owning more properties).

I think the name of the game in this case is avoiding tax "events", which a refi, cash-out refi, and HELOC would achieve for you.You can keep the home in Grandmom's name, assuming she has good credit and a worthy financial history that would allow you to achieve this.

I have learned that the biggest reason people do not achieve their goals is one word 'Action'... 

I liked the idea of house hacking a multi-family but with young children I’d rather not have to move them after a year, so looking for other options to achieve a permanent home and an investment property in the next 2-3 years.

Not sure what your living situation is, but purchasing a house hack could also help you achieve FI significantly faster.

I bought an investment property and it needs some work. Is it hard of buying an owner occupant house and getting a 203k loan to rehab the investment property since that will be income.

The cash-out refinanceWhen combined, these components allow you to achieve "infinite return"; you get cash out and are able to maintain ownership of the property.You can speak with banks, private lenders, hard money lenders, or use your own cash to complete the first portion of the "BRRRR" strategy, the "Buy" and "Rehab".Using leverage comes with risks, but many investors find it attractive as it can increase your equity returns and allow you to take on more projects than you would otherwise be able to.Hope this helps,Michael

The economic es of scale in the MF space compared to SFH allows us to scale a lot faster which will help us achieve our goals faster.

Achieve 3x cashflow of work salary.