I’m exploring the idea of buying a vacation home near Yosemite, which I also plan to list on Airbnb.

I think there's a path to refinance that would flip me into positive cash flow, but I'm coming up short on ideas. 

I am looking for any recommendations on how to properly scale this idea over the first few years conservatively and not wanting to over use leverage and debt by starting small in duplex and being open to triple/quadplex in the future if the right opportunity presents itself.

That said, even with conservative rental income estimates, my living expenses would eventually drop to several hundred dollars less than what I’m currently paying in rent once the house hack starts generating income.I do have cash reserves to weather some rough patches, but the idea of pushing my budget this hard makes me uneasy.

But coming close to break even, especially when using Interest only debt(HELOC), I'd say probably not a good idea.  

We're getting nailed in auto insurance too.Any ideas why these states?

In most cases, I don't recommend renting out your primary residence especially if you have no rental experience and that is because usually your primary residence was bought without the idea of renting it out.  

If you have any tips, resources, or advice for someone just starting out, I’d greatly appreciate your insights.Some specific things I’m working on right now:Building a strong buyers list.Identifying motivated sellers and honing my outreach.Learning the ins and outs of structuring win-win deals.I’m open to partnering, collaborating, or just grabbing coffee to exchange ideas.

I’m currently active on BiggerPockets to connect with like-minded investors, exchange ideas, explore potential opportunities, and provide opportunities through my network to collaborate with others.

We’d like to continue with this project remotely, but the idea of managing contractors and overseeing a renovation from afar feels a bit daunting.Have any of you undertaken a similar project?