And she can always add roommates to generate more income.Just know that when you later sell she will only be able to take advantage of the primary residence exemption for the % that she actually owns.

If rates get down into the 4s for investment (which is highly unlikely, but so was covid), then you could consider a refinance later. 

Lots of don't find our real path until way later.

Getting started a little later in life than some, but that's ok.

STR isn’t out of the question, just later on with more experience and money to invest in the areas that STR I think would do well in.  

You can plan several years in advance what to do with a large sum of money I will pay later. 

A few months later, we received a notice from the lender stating that we no longer had home insurance and needed to secure coverage within a certain number of days.As it turns out, our original home insurance was canceled because it required the property to be owner-occupied.

As a listing agent, I explain to seller that an inspection can be more protection for them, anyway, because 1) buyer waives right to repair anything discovered in the inspection if not negotiated during inspection period, so fewer surprises at final Walk Through, and 2) buyer less likely to succeed in blaming seller later for something even their own professional didn’t find (unless seller was really hiding it).

It's now 2 weeks later since the last comment.

For now, enjoy the project, but consider transitioning to a vacation rental later for consistent income.Overall strategy..Balancing multiple properties is challenging, so leveraging property management for the rentals would be wise.