Given the facts that (1) I could get into a property for a measly 3.5% down, which would free up cash to invest in other places if I so chose, (2) I was already throwing away rent every month such that I could still be cash flow negative of $650/month (what I was paying in rent) and still be better off because a portion of my monthly payment would be building my equity and the rest would be tax deductible, and (3) I’m in my 20s and have the time to take a long-term view of appreciation potential, it was a no-brainer to go the FHA 4-plex route in Los Angeles, despite the fact that it is one of the most expensive markets in the country.One thing to keep in mind when looking for an FHA owner-occupied triplex or fourplex is that 85% of the market rents on all four units need to cover your monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and mortgage insurance).

The experience I gained as a landlord will be invaluable for the rest of my investing career.

Period.

I get one or two tenants that actually call and say thanks...the rest usually no response.

The absolute maximum required would likely have been 16", but that's for a 3 story building.Getting the rest of the way under the footing is probably the easy part.

I tried several different ways to do this one but the owner isn't really wanting to do anything creative either cash or 50% down and he would finance the rest.

@David Tipton  you are absolutely correct on the single member LLC. vis a vi the corp veil.. one reason to have proper G L insurance.. on my 27 homes subdivision I am building in Portland right now.... it cost me 40k for  1 million in coverage for the 10 year warrenty period. and we bought that basically only for cost of defense.I am just about out of the land lording game.. and can only go on my 30 plus years of owning the dog gone things.. and I have never been sued by a tenant. 

I think rates will increase slightly in 2016 which will lower buying power slightly but I do not expect to see huge jumps as the rest of the economy can't withstand such increases.I think we will see further stabilizing in the market and healthy appreciation rates of 5%- 10% annual for 2016.

You'll learn a lot about the process in a short period of time, then as you learn the ropes you can figure out how to start doing the fun stuff.

I agree with the rest.