First investment property

[Ethan Evans]

I'm in the education phase now as I'm keeping up with the podcasts and reading Set For Life now.

I am slowly working on warming my wife to the idea of using some of our reserves to buy an entry level rental home/duplex, but have also started thinking about whether going to house hacking, even if it's more on the "luxury" end with having an ADU or separate mother in law suite might be a better approach.

Question:

From a numbers and practicality standpoint, am I better off to upgrade my personal residence so I can house hack, or take that same cash and put it towards an entry level B or C class rental home?

I live in the Lansing, MI area.

Thank you all in advance for any advice you can offer!

Ethan Evans