First-time investor with $75K: suburban single-family vs urban multi-unit

[Scarlett.W]

I'm a first-time real estate investor with about $75,000 in capital saved, and I'm trying to decide between purchasing a single-family rental property in a growing suburban market or using the funds for a down payment on a small multi-unit building in a more established, but slower-growing, urban area. I'm drawn to the potential cash flow of a multi-unit but intimidated by the management complexity as a newcomer. For experienced investors, what real estate investment strategies did you start with, and what key factors should I prioritize in my analysis beyond the basic cap rate and cash-on-cash return calculations? I'm particularly interested in how you evaluated property management demands versus potential appreciation, and whether you think starting with a "house hack" style live-in investment is a smarter path for building experience before diving into a purely investment property.