Our current home is a nice home in a nice neighborhood, but it was purchased as a family home to raise me and my sister as opposed to something that my parents truly loved.

I don't mean that to be rude I'm just pointing  it out to say you'll be able to see every possible risk/benefit associated with investing local as opposed to out of state.

When I am the listing agent, I generally just counter the offer with a number as opposed to use it so that I don't have to present anything.

@John Dean I would like to stick to <150k but not opposed to leveraging the cash@Bruce Lynn thank you for the info! 

Experian, Equifax, & Trans Union - mortgage lenders pull all 3 (as opposed to for a car loan, where they may just pull 1)Here's an article on how inquiries affect you by Experian:https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/report-basics/hard-vs-soft-inquiries-on-your-credit-report/#:~:text=This%20type%20of%20inquiry%20appears,not%20impact%20your%20credit%20scores.According to Experian, you are entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three bureaus every 12 months.https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/report-basics/my-credit-report/Experian will give you 1 free for yourself here on their own site: https://www.experian.com/consumer-products/free-credit-report.htmlIf you have a hard copy of your credit reports today, & the scores go down a bit later you can show that EVERYTHING but the inquiries are substantially the same (assuming you're still paying all your bills on time, which you will be).  

Hi All,I’ve noticed a decent number of multi family units that are listed for sale on Zillow or Redfin etc will have all of two exterior pictures and then a very brief description of the units themselves and then say “Long term tenants.

I have just had this experience and unfortunately, it is jeopardizing my deal.Another mistake I made was relying on one lender as opposed to pursuing several.

Did you begin rehabbing the exterior and finished the interior once the leases were up?

I have yet to see the inside yet because she didn't want to give me the key until I viewed the exterior first.

Other downsides for the window units I see are interior water intrusion issues, exterior erosion issues, having to mount brackets and/or install/remove them each year or pay someone to do this, potential lawsuits if installed incorrectly, and issues with the windows they are installed on.