Your other alternative is partnering with someone who has the W-2 / who is loanable and they can make up your lack of W-2 / income.

But I always like to point out what I think may be a good alternative for small investors owning less than 5 currently mortgage properties.

It definitely depends on a lot of factors - where non-QM is generally going to be about 0.5%-1% higher in rate, but can be more than that or even lower than conventional with some more options - one in particular is if you did a longer prepayment penalty period (5 years - at a descending penalty structure or even 5% all five years), then that could drive the rate down even significantly lower than the conventional alternative.

I'd like to start small with 1-2 STR tiny house(s) or other less expensive "alternate housing" options (yurt, airstream, etc).

How do I make more money in Real Estate,  I believe AI would come up with STRs as an alternative.  

@Dennis Nikolaev The only alternative I can see is to Short Sale them, if the mtg balance is higher than what you could net from a sale.You will need to talk the Loss Mitigation dept of your lender and hire an Experienced short agent, they will know what to do and how to handle the process.

Hi Shrijan,Welcome to the forum.Personally, I'm not a fan of out of state BRRRR.On paper it all sounds good and great but I've been in the game long enough to have witnessed otherwise.I would always advise doing BRRRR in your own market if possible.There are too many links to a chain with this approach and if one link is faulty, you chain becomes useless.Otherwise, (Yes, I'm bias lol) an alternate solution is buying turnkey.Wishing you much success 

I always hear the “Cap ex of 10% rule” but have yet to hear any alternatives.

Considering your goal of house hacking a duplex, while FHA loans are common for first-timers, there are alternative financing options to explore:Conventional Loans: Need more credit and down payment, but offer flexibility. 203K Loans: Ideal for fixer-upper duplexes, bundling purchase and renovation costs.VA Loans: Great for vets—no down payment, competitive rates, and no mortgage insurance.Portfolio Loans: Private lenders, good for unconventional income or credit histories.Hard Money Loans: Quick, high-interest, good for investments or major renovations.With $30,000, mix it up—use it for a down payment, maybe pair with a conventional or FHA loan.

As a viable alternative to explore with a lender, consider the advantages of a 5% down conventional loan, or even less for qualifying first-time homebuyers, which often comes with less stringent property condition requirements.