@Darrius LloydTo start your house hacking journey, research neighborhoods with potential for multifamily properties and balance affordability with tenant quality.

Colors, quality of paint, how much prep needed, holes patches etc. 

It's mostly Class A properties, a few Class B.You may find the below copy & paste info useful in addressing your question:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

As you already know, the quality of the investor agent will speed up your learning curve, and save you money, time, and headaches. 

You'll get differing amounts and qualities of leads depending on the type of marketing, but also depending on who you're marketing to and where.

.- They often get sold Class C or D properties while using Class A assumptions - then wonder why they are losing money.Here's some copy & paste info that you hopefully find helpful:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Again, treating folks with housing support funds with the same dignity and respect as everyone else, usually nets quality clients that listen and do their best to follow the rules.

That's where good people live, and good people make good tenants.But before you put money down on a house, I would find a quality property manager.

We didn't know the siding needed to be replaced because it was just recently replaced by the owner before selling it to us, but probably with bad quality paint/siding. 

It depends on your financial strength, the quality of the property, how many properties you own, etc.I like to start with one significant expense and three months of vacancy.