If this is your first deal AND the numbers work you might find a way to make it work so that you build some confidence/momentum for the future.

It's so much easier once you have momentum so get the ball rolling with that first house-hack.

(lesson learned :)... this hiccup will delay us 3 months but we are so excited for the journey my wife and I embarked on and cant wait to finish it and keep the momentum going!!.  

Setting some constraints, like gross yields between 10%-15% and elevated appreciation over the 5-year and 10-year moving annualized rates, you'll find zip codes with promising price indexes and appreciation momentum (indicating the expansion phase in the cycle) over their moving averages. 

Don't kill your momentum taking a W2 just to save a few points on interest.

There's a very interesting move that is gaining momentum nationwide to allow ADUs at any SFR as long as the SFR is owner occupied.This is happening a lot in college towns where parents will buy a house for their child and put it in their childs name as owner occupied. 

Definitely want to make sure I can keep the momentum going so I'm trying to treat the next move as carefully as the first so I really appreciate the insight.

These are all long term goals and ideas I would like to do if I can get some momentum.

But it got the ball rolling & built up momentum for me.

(We aren't in a position to owner finance and really need the capital to put onto our new mortgage and pay off some bills.)Even though the guy seemed a little shady, I'm glad for that experience for several reasons:  it really got our momentum up (my husband and son quickly completed some smaller projects and I deep cleaned in preparation of that showing), and it gave us confidence about our home's value.