They can have a bit more flexibility compared to the large nation wide banks/lenders.

That's the nice thing about multi-fam, you can usually maintain some rent coming in, so it's not quite as worrisome compared to single family and single rent check coming in.As @Brandon Turner said, check out the free ebooks on here and even the paid books are well worth the money. 

The taxes are exactly the same and if you compared the two side by side, there would be absolutely no difference between a sole proprietor and an LLC except that lines C and D are filled in on the schedule C with the entity's name and EIN and the LLC will have an additional expense each year of "Business Licenses and Annual Filing Fees"There is nothing wrong with a disregarded entity and there's no reason to go to extra lengths to have it file its own tax return, but if you're bound and determined, here are two options.1.  

The price represents the quality of your neighbors and demand for those properties. 7-10k purchase price plus 10-40k rehab....Compared to a decent place that is what?

I hope to keep using owner occupied financing, but unsure which is the best strategy since banks require me to put down 15% on a multi-family property compared to 3.5% on a single family residence.Interested in opinions on this, or other ideas....

While a walk through may identify a variety of things, a true home inspection is not that expensive compared to the purchase price and may identify issues that can either save you money (in the form of concessions) or reveal issues that may kill the deal entirely.Restoration deals (i.e. mold, fire damage, etc.) can be very profitable, but you need the right team.

Our experience is that US banks are at least a decade behind servicing customers compared to Australian banks.

I like to compare my actuall Real estate board stats to what they say, I find its usually cherry picked data.If the Toronto Market starts to fail the ripple effect will start to been seen on the outskirts of the GTA first and foremost, as those values are based strictly upon lack of affordability in the city core.Most cities with their own economy will weather the storm with ease and see little to no negative effects, Brampton, Missisauge, Cambridge, Hamilton, Kitchener and similar areas will see mild stagnation if not slow growth.Places based purely on accessibility with little employers in the area will get hit the hardest as the Toronto market slows down or sees negative appreciation people will buy in the city core rather than an outskirt.

I'm having a really hard time comparing these properties because it feels like apples and oranges.For you, what kind of neighborhoods have worked best?

I agree we are in the early innings in Chelsea, which may not be a bad thing compared to red-hot markets like East Boston, but I would be careful of much of the construction quality in Chelsea however.