My goal, over the next five years, is to utilize real estate in lieu of my current hourly consulting income, by building a portfolio of rentals.  

I am of the opinion that the best STRs are properties that don't compete with hotels - meaning that they are 4-5 bedrooms for large groups or have a unique location/setting. 

While I do not have an official W-2 currently, I do have a steady income, great credit, and have money saved as well from working since I was 13 years old.I relate to Ian Kay in his journey but also am very determined to make my goals/dreams a reality this year by July 2025.

But, if steady long term cashflow is a goal, with no management, one can always sell farm land on a low down private contract.

At this stage, the main thing we need is for me to get back into the workforce and get some money coming in, in order to achieve that dream.With that in mind, my immediate goal is to gain employment in the field of property management, as opposed to wasting my time working in another field that is not associated with real estate.

I would also highly recommend you set some parameters when thinking about working with non-accredited investors or if you are one and want to invest on a large deal. 

However, our goal is to help 100k investors obtain financial freedom - hence the reasons why we provide many videos, podcasts, programs, and services to help with this journey.Unfortunately, we cannot promise that every deal we help you get under contract will close.

My goal is to buy a house in the area and house hack the remaining rooms.

As I said earlier, this is strictly for investment purposes.The property does not have to be turnkey, if there is room for improvement that's of no concern as we both have the skill set to invest in whatever upgrades are required.

@Nicholas Stout S8 rents are set by the number of bedrooms, that's pretty much it.The HUD guides are just that - guides!