Consider House Hacking 2.0, which involves buying a small multi-family property with an FHA loan (3.5% down) and renting out the units.Good luck!

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.

This is more of a tax planning matter, so it would involve working through several specific questions to tailor it to your situation.

.- to do a successful brrrr involves a lot of skills.  

What is the risk involved?

If an agent is involved your chances of having a meaningful conversation with the seller is limited. 

I’m really excited to get involved in the community and learn about different markets across the country.As a first-time homebuyer and investor, I’m curious about which markets might be good for starting out.

You materially participate in an activity if you're involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis.

It’d be great to know a little more about your market preferences and non-negotiables, since Alabama’s pretty diverse in terms of what it can offer.For example, the Huntsville area is a much higher-growth market than Birmingham, and the median home in each area is priced accordingly to reflect that difference.Even individual markets can vary widely by zip code—properties in a Birmingham suburb like Forestdale are going to fetch dramatically different rents than homes in a neighborhood like Mountain Brook or Vestavia Hills.In any case, let us know what your buying criteria look like, and we can give more pointed recommendations.

You could also qualify if you spend more time on the property than anyone else involved, regardless of hitting 100 hours.Ex. managing contractors, handling bookings, setting up the property, or dealing with guest communications, you might meet the material participation requirement without needing to track 100 hours.The key is to document everything.