For an owner-occupied two-family or three-family, CMHC's insured lending framework can allow a lower minimum down payment, 5 percent on the first $500,000 of the purchase price, than a pure investment property typically requires, because you living in one unit changes how the lender classifies the property. A pure rental with no owner-occupant is treated differently and usually needs a larger down payment.
Lenders assessing whether the rental income helps you qualify generally apply CMHC-style guidelines built around 39 percent of gross income on housing costs and 44 percent on total debt, and most will only count a portion of documented rental income toward that calculation, not the full amount, since vacancy and turnover are real costs a lender has to account for.
Whether a two-family or three-family in Pleasant Hill makes financial sense for you depends on your own numbers and your own plans for occupying it, not a general rule about the property type. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.