Quote from @Chris Seveney: @Francisco AvancenaThere are specific lenders who will do land dealsBut of course not as many as traditional real estate.The key will be skin in the game - typically for land because it is less liquid than a home the lender will want to have a lower ltv on the deal I fund land flippers currently in  CO FLA WA ID MT NV AZ OR TX SC GA VA  one thing about land though LTV is lower and RATES are NOT the same as typical HML rates are higher for raw land but its a specialty niche and a business that I grew up in..

@Stuart Bartle welcome to the RE investing game.  

Very true Drew!

It's nerve wracking but true that traveling professionals are booking really close to when they come to town.

Hi @Tim Holt I think in general house hacking is usually a good move because it gets you off the sidelines and into the game with the most favorable financing possible (30 year fixed).There's a lot of value in getting started today vs waiting some undefined number of years until conditions are better, which could be a long time from now, because real estate is a business and the sooner you start actually learning about that business, the better.With all that said, I always recommend that people analyze any potential house hack as a pure investment that they aren't going to live in, because someday they may want to move out and you should know up front (before you commit) whether you're going to be able to do that, or whether you're overpaying and will be stuck in the property unable to move out because it'll be cash flow negative if you do.So you had it exactly right when you wrote, "the property would need to cash flow when I move out and rent out all units."

Unfortunately most lack the balance sheet to obtain favorable financing, can't afford to put any skin in the game and fail to make a compelling reason for why the investment makes sense or to justify the structure they are seeking.

Perhaps it has something to do with the statistical average where in Australia, if you are borrowing 75% on property in the cities or suburbs, it is almost impossible to get positive cash flow ANYWHERE, whereas BP subscribers are aware that in MANY parts of the USA, the opposite is true.

Here is the how I would explain it to a kindergartner:The true power of a 1031 exchange is the ability for an investor to meet their investment objectives without losing equity to taxation.With more money they can buy larger, multiple, or more productive properties.What is the alternative?

It's a numbers game. 

Is this true?