I assume a higher upfront cost as far as land purchase and the actual build but you would have a brand new house, instant equity and hopefully maintenance free for quite a while.

I think house hacking with a VA is still well worth it. 

A great way to get started if you currently have a W2 job is to buy a house hack like a duplex or a fourplex where you can move into one of the units and continue to rent/manage the other units.

Your plan to house hack a multifamily property in Indianapolis is a great strategy to start building equity and learning the ropes with manageable risk.

I'm looking to buy a house in the St Pete market & have read zoning regulations, articles about STR (anything less than 30 days) and have discussed with my realtor.  

(They did multiple inspections, also came for several full afternoons to just poke around the house while we were living there.) 

Sure, all channels can work, even seller financing or foreclosures, but in my experience, a well-connected agent can uncover hidden gems that often outperform the trickier avenues.Since the post is still fresh, I’m curious.. do you foresee other potential add ons that might elevate the returns even further, like corporate housing partnerships or short-term seasonal leases?

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger: Quote from @John Underwood: Wouldn't it be cheaper to order everything online and have it shipped to house?

Based on this article (https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/housing/baltimo...) it looks like that out of 41,000 tax lien sales, 1,750 were foreclosed on.

For example if you think the house is worth 200K fixed up you need to pay 100K to afford the hard money loan and rehab budget and still have a profit.