It all depends on what you are comfortable with.

Residual income to live off of without working plus a comfortable reserve for emergencies.

I don't know that I would feel comfortable owning 4 or 5 rental units all with loans and the possibility of them being vacant.My initial thoughts are to get my house paid off (within the next 1.5 years) and purchase a multi-family home 2-4 unit to start.

For vacant units I find people I am comfortable giving a key.

If you don't feel comfortable with an applicant then you should never accept that person.

The last thing you want as an inexperienced investor is to feel forced to go with a contractor you're not comfortable with.I'm a big advocate of using conventional or FHA owner-occupant loans on the first deal, especially if it is a rental.  

It gives me an edge over other landlords and the parents have a comfort level knowing the landlord is doing his part.

The cost of living is very low though - you can live here quite comfortably for $2000/month.

Maybe figure those costs first, and contribute the left overs or whatever you are comfortable with.

He's got another investor who he's done 44 deals with just this one investor, just not as many down the FHA road.My biggest thing is I need to come up with the down payment and cash reserves at this point to make my numbers work and for the bank to feel comfortable lending to me.