Fannie Mae+1Talk to a mortgage broker who knows multifamily owner-occupant loans — product availability varies by lender and changes rapidly.4) California vs out-of-state — decision factorsPros staying in CA: easier property management (you live on site), faster hands-on control, potential appreciation in some areas.Pros going out of state: more cashflow and lower entry prices in many Midwest/Southern markets — you’ll trade more travel/remote management for higher yields.Consider: rental market demand, vacancy rates, property taxes, landlord-friendly laws, and ability to travel/manage repairs.

Answers to any possible question one can ask, financing sources, trades people, fellow investors . . . the list goes on. 

I want a specialist that's an expert, and not a jack of all trades and master of none.

Quote from @Placeholder Placeholder: Just applied for a hard money for a fix and flip and got this message:Your application was turned down for the following reasons:Total credit limit on open revolving trades is too low.Maximum credit amount on open revolving bankcard tradelines is too low.Period of time since bankcard revolving or charge trades opened is too short.  

A job in the trades, such as an electrician or plumber, can be very beneficial in the future as you can do your own work.

Matt, I totally get where you’re coming from.The good news is, yes, you can start from almost nothing, but it usually means trading more time/effort for less money upfront.

Since you’re starting with limited capital, look for ways to trade effort and creativity for money.

For Columbus small multis in those submarkets, start with a two‑call sprint: first, interview 2–3 multifamily brokers who actively trade 4–20 units and ask for recent sales they closed within a mile of your targets; second, vet 2 property managers who already manage in Grandview/Short North/German Village and get their true rent ranges, lease‑up timelines, and turn costs.

My typical ARV for a rental is somewhere around 200k so if I build around 40k of equity in each deal, if you have another source of active income and continue building a portfolio with that strategy, one day you're going to be very wealthy and those rentals are going to be cash flowing a lot better once interest rates are more favorable, rents go up, or you trade that equity into a better cash flowing asset.

I never stopped learning the trades and kept grinding.