I was wondering if anyone knows of some good markets that are particularly great for a multi-family property that would also be decent enough to live in. I

The property I'm interested in is bank owned and open for bids.

You may also want to consider going after a larger property, perhaps a 4 plex.If you want to partner up with this friend, I would suggest a property that you don't live in.  I

Haven't been able to get financing because we can't put skin in the game, so we gotta get creative.Our plan is to talk to the seller about doing seller financing, with the seller paid their interest (and the principal, of course) when the property sells post rehab.....so that would take care of the seller.  

If they are, the have some skin in the game to make this project a priority.

If you like the idea of wood flooring look into lock & fold or glue down wood.One of the newest items going in is LVP or luxury vinyl plank flooring.

This would definitely increase your cash flow position and you would have more skin in the game for the mortgage lender.A couple years down the road, you could do a HELOC to pull cash out for your next wealth-building purchase.Good Luck!

To me, that is the difference between a "wholesaler" and a scam artist playing games with peoples lives and their home.

@Lynn M.I will agree that a tenant with good credit is better and playing the waiting game is a better strategy for many property owners, especially for properties in high demand.For those who own property in less desirable areas where the applicant pool is smaller or in situations where paying the mortgage without collecting rent would put the owner in a bad financial position, I think simply checking for judgments and criminal records is good enough.Of course I'm willing to accept a higher degree of risk than most property owners because my costs are lower due to the fact that I process my own evictions and many times do the clean-outs/repairs myself.I've learned that it is good idea to at least check for non-existence of rental judgments because that is a sign that either they will leave the property when asked or that they've never rented a property before in their own name because they are young.

In order for both side to have “skin” in the game I have either a $50 a month pet rent OR one months security deposit.