This was my first deal, and house hacking made the most sense because it lowered the threshold for risk in my mind.

My company offers fast-closing, no credit/bad credit loan packages in 44 states and referrals in the other 6.

In addition to your down payment, plan for closing costs (around 2-5% of the purchase price) and set aside at least 3-6 months of expenses for repairs, maintenance, and vacancies.

I decided to buy the property from my grandfather using a gift of equity, which allowed me to take over ownership without having to come up with the full down payment and pay for the tax lien and his closing costs.

My client bought a 22 unit building and used this strategy and walked out of closing with a check for $800k to perform the rest of the renovations, paid himself back his already expended rehab costs and his entire down payment.  

I used the lower of rent amounts for analysis. https://www.biggerpockets.com/analysis/rentals/ee5f6928-93ce... is link to the BP Calculation on it.

Know your close date and time line to turn the EM.

They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

While I could have gone lower I am lowering my risk tolerance because I expect a recession in late 2019 to 2020.

These markets are attractive because of their diverse, resilient economies, lower priced homes, and stable home price appreciation.