In truth, you do not need to invest where you live as there may be better markets that produce better cash flow with solid capital appreciation in many areas throughout the US.

We no longer want to sacrifice any of my wife's income to invest in our rentals and only want to grow with the income that the business produces.

People looking for safe, income producing investments, with tax benefits.

I also have to mentioned that the biggest advantage of using AI is for internal company usage, especially in a companies where it has multiple product, multiple supplier , or producing very competitive product ; company like home depot , medical device or even Adobe, can really make killing productivity by leveraging AI.For people in tech, the ability of AI to generate a code , a database or to articulate complex system , is very valuable.I have been moving from search engine to AI too in last few months and result was great.

The results they produce will be used by your accountant when you file, but with that strategy you know it was done correctly and with the lens of your greatest benefit.

Big winners in this are going to be Zillow and people like me or @Russell Brazil , elite brokers who have an elite level of skill and  offer an elite level service but expect to be paid accordingly.Big losers here are going to be the NAR and the mega brokerages like Keller Williams & Re/Max etc....The NAR and these brokerages make their money on the fees collected from the 1,000's & 1,000's & 1,000's of side hustle agents who are producing minimal revenue.

If it is to play it safe and have a feel for the type of actual operating income that the property can produce before you put debt on it, that's a safe and solid idea.The good news, however, is that you're likely going to be purchasing a furnished property.

You produced one of the better explanations of DSCR I've seen here.Mike

If your interest only period is only 12 months, but you have tenants that are only renewing for a small increase in rent, or they elect to not renew and you have to get a new tenant in there, the income that property is producing is negatively affected at the same time your monthly loan payment is going higher, creating the perfect storm for a loan to go into default.

Whether it is purchased from a 3rd party or self-produced does not seem to be a factor.