House hacking vs buying a rental

[Travis Provin]

Hello,

I'm having some trouble deciding which path I'd like to take on purchasing my first home. I had been planning to do a basement househack and in the area I am living it that would mean purchasing a house with an unfinished basement, spending $50k (a rough estimate) to finish it, and renting it out on Airbnb for about $1,500 per month. On the flip side of things, I can purchase a smaller house without a basement just for my fiance and I for about $80k - $100k less than something larger with a basement and keep my $50k to acquire another property. 

I am wondering if anyone has any opinions on choosing one versus another. Duplex's and triplex's are not popular in this area so the classic househack option is out. 

The pro's to purchasing a larger home with a basement and finishing it would mean a single mortgage and income coming in from the househack. The con's are that my mortgage will be more expensive (but very easily paid for with my income) and I will have to dump a lot of cash into the house.

The pro's to purchasing a house without a basement means I don't dump all my cash and can acquire another property but now I'm dealing with two mortgages (also very easy for my fiance and I to cover with our income) and a timeline to get the home up and running quickly as a STR, MTR, or LTR. It would also mean that I have two properties to work with in terms of building equity instead of just one.