I would recommend buying a standard SFH with opportunities for an ADU, or a split floor plan where you could rent out the rooms!

They often provide standardized lease agreements that comply with state and local laws.Additionally, many landlords use platforms like Avail, Zillow Rental Manager, or TurboTenant, which often include customizable lease templates that are state-specific.

I am happy with them, I think they bring up value to investors, still I believe many of their deals don't meet my standards ( do your own diligence and run your numbers!). 

You can also check meetup.com or search Facebook for real estate investment groups, clubs, or meetings in your area.

My main question is whether it makes more sense to go the seller financing route and pay off the principal in 8–10 years or stick with a standard 30-year loan.My thinking is that the tax deductions from a mortgage wouldn’t outweigh the potential equity I could gain over those 8–10 years.

Here's some basic copy & paste info that may help you make better investing decisions:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

It's standard contract.

They wouldn't be coming to you.So you can get a gold standard investment advisor and give up .5 to 2% of your return, or you can send the money to one or more huge index funds like Vanguard 500 index fund and sleep well at night.But if you think you have something of value other than the generic value of money, you will be sorely disappointed.

It also has a dashboard where you can see how far along you are with meeting the 750 hours requirement with at least 500 hours in material participation and 250 hours in general participation.

Here is the key: Don't pay for anything until it's done to your standard.