I have numerous partners.

Here is what I've learned following interest rates for a long time...If you listen carefully to the experts, they are wrong 50% of the time. 

Now I was hooked and instantly my research led me to biggerpockets where it seemed like I listened to Brandon talk for months straight without ever turning off the podcast.

There are also numerous other factors that contribute to the equation as well, such as the market you're interested in or even unexpected malfunctions that you will need to be prepared for financially. 5k is a great start though.

I listened to the BP podcast with the SC attorney.

You might've already read/listened to it, but The House Hacking Strategy book is phenonmenal to begin learning all of the info about house hacking

Ive heard both from numerous different people but would like an opinion from someone more experienced, thanks!

So my first piece of advice would be to listen closely to the professionals who do this every day for a living.  

Just the way I do it but can be done numerous ways.

We just need to learn how to listen to the song and be patiendGino