Duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes have different down payment requirements with different loan products, so get on the phone with a lender and ask a lot of question.

Not sure of the advantages of buying under the LLC will be when you can most likely get a more favorable loan product and lower interest rate with a personal mortgage rather than what will be a commercial loan under the LLC.I'd suggest picking up a househack 2-4 unit property; you all can live in 1 unit and rent out the remaining.

Work with a lender to figure out how much you can afford, what the best loan product will be for you, and what the cost-side of the transaction will look like.

It seems like many smart locks have too many bells and whistles for this application.Because the basement currently can be accessed by anyone -- I don't want to make any assumptions about who has left things hidden in my basement ceiling or who may or may not be trying to smoke in a basement with natural gas heating fixtures.

@Tein Hlwa - there are renovation Loan products where you can finance the cost of the renovation as part of the loan.

First lien HELOCs are the most powerful investing tool I know of.I think I'd look for another bank or institution that offers the first lien HELOC and compare costs, but you are absolutely onto the right product so in general, pursue that with determination.And to avoid assumption, check out velocity banking if you haven't already.

Obviously the lower starting prices in the latter areas potentially give it a natural edge, but not sure if the PLG/Prospect Park South neighborhoods are still a whiles away from meaningful price growth.

This is a great forum with very knowledgeable members that will help to guide you in the right directionThere are some pretty nice discounts on many products and services offered as Perks to BP members that you might want to check out: https://www.biggerpockets.com/perks/proIf you are looking to connect with other members near you, or want to learn from people in a specific area you’d like to invest in, or have a desire to find people interested in certain topics, you could use the search feature here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/search/users

If you can provide details on cities, mortgage products, resale / preconstruction properties, years it took, etc.

Now the product I offer is fundamentally different, a 24 hours active service when I used to be able to do maintenance anytime I wanted during business hours for the most part.