Personally, I continue to flip and have numerous clients doing them as well.

@Ricky Rodriguez  This is an in-depth response, but I have in-depth experience on this, so here goes...I’ve house hacked numerous properties (and also done BRRRR’s, STRs, ADUs, and pretty much every other residential REI strategy), and I can say from experience that house hacking is the BEST strategy for new investors getting started (check out my other forum posts about what makes house hacking such a good strategy).As I’ve said many times before, house hacking is generally easier than the more advanced REI strategies (like BRRRR’ing, STRs, flips, etc.), but that doesn’t mean house hacking is necessarily easy.

Speculation is always a key element as well, you cannot be afraid to go for the B/C neighborhood when the marketplace such as the bay area, is so volatile. 

Is the current tank shot or just the heating elements?  

There is a cabin on the property that can accommodate additional 6-10 guests but the current owner has chosen not to rent this cabin despite the numerous requests.

I've helped numerous clients find STRs.

Virginia indeed offers a vibrant and diverse real estate market, with its metropolitan areas presenting numerous opportunities for growth and investment.Looking forward to seeing your journey unfold and celebrating your successes along the way.

When it comes to real estate valuation, COMPS, PPU (price per unit), capitalization rate are some of the more common valuation metrics I see used in real estate as opposed to NPV.When it comes to performance metrics in real estate (of which IRR is one), I agree there are numerous and it can be confusing as to when to use which.

Its fine balance, this is why I prefer hybrid markets that have elements of both cashflow and semi appreciation as well.

Numerous closed end funds exist such as ECC/EIC, rfi (I think its a reit fund if you are still stuck on real estate), jqc, pdi...