I’ve been following much of the research you suggested, like inspecting the property and assessing comparable homes in the area.

You could probably do a NPV analysis on that compared to the price of installing a water softener up front.

I would use the Find a Lender tab on here to reach out to a few lenders and compare. 

The no state income tax doesn't really apply when you are comparing to other investment locations.

Not a ton of flipping compared to previous years, other strategy I'm seeing is STR's or rent by the room/padsplits. 

Get a few quotes and confirm you’re comparing the same coverage.

I financed this deal through a private lender, allowing me flexibility and faster access to funds compared to traditional financing.

On that website shows a lot different price compared to Zillow. 

You're also LIVING there when you house hack, so you have to factor in what your "normal" comparable living costs would be. 

BUT, once we applied for the card, we were rejected immediately because our debt is so large compared to our income because DUH, we are real estate investors.I figured a lot of other investors might have run up against this issue and I was wondering if anyone figured out how to work around it.