He may have to borrow from family so I will wait and see.

Thinking of upgrading a 3 family I have, but with the coin ops and electrical work, I'm figuring about 5k total to get going.  

If it's in a decent (C+-) area, that you can feel good about renting to a family, I say go for it.    

Of all of the podcasts I listen to (mostly about multi-family investing) and people I talk to, I've only heard one person say that they aren't buying right now, intentionally.Now clearly, a 'deal' is something that cash flows or will make profit from day one.I'm not saying skip over a true DEAL.What I'm asking though, is if there are experienced investors who've been through more than one full market cycle, that have periods of not buying ANYTHING, even if there 'are deals out there'?

To start, I would like to begin renting out multi-family homes. 

I have some experience with single family, but wanting to get into multi family.  

Are they single family homes?

I wouldn't buy brand new and rent out a single family.

Nobody gets rich by trucking, but it's a respectable living that can support a family.

Younger families are starting to move into town so single family homes might be a little more advantageous since it would seem there's not much of a seasonal cycle due to fall and spring semesters.