Something has to get better in that market as the regulations are too confining and essentially up to interpretation by the city explore you engage with.

If you don't own a primary, that's the best place to start on this journey. 

Is it a bad idea to start investing if I don't live in the country.

If they’re really in a bind, you could even explore something creative, like seller financing or a subject-to deal (where you take over their mortgage payments).

Together, the property nets us roughly $1,400/month after expenses.Equity Split: My partner owns 60%, and I own 40%.I'm exploring ways to take out my equity without disrupting this deal, as I feel this isn't the best financial decision for me right now.

House hacking is the BEST way to get into real estate investing and that's how I personally got started as well too.

I think you should start by getting the financials and condo docs together.

Just started using https://www.turbotenant.com/ it gives you a focal point to house documents, gives you a credit report and some other things but it's still your decision to make with the collected information. 

Don't want to pay tax on selling the rentals I unfortunately don't think they actually want to utilize the 121 to sell their existing primary and then potentially buy another one-it sounds like the goal is to ultimately continue owing that initial home which I think makes this whole plan 5x more likely to be torn apart under audit because they're trying to end up with the same property they started with.  

However, I’m open to exploring opportunities in other cities or markets if the numbers make sense and align with my investment goals.If you know of any deals or markets worth considering or maybe even a deal lines up, I would love to know of it!