If you are comfortable living with roommates, a SFH househack could be the move for you.

Even if the rental has a decent cash flow with additional flood insurance, we're still not sure we want to take on that risk as we are out-of-state investors (planning to move back to KY in the future, but not now) and we don't like that it will potentially bring down the perceived value when we try to sell it in the future.The seller has never lived there and has not provided any information on if it has flooded before or not. 

This is where you live in one side.

My plan is to sell my primary home in New York and purchase a house to live in South Carolina.

Selling may trigger capital gains tax, but if you lived there for two of the last five years, you may qualify for a Section 121 exclusion.

House hacking is an incredible way to live affordably while building wealth through real estate.

Me and my partner moved from Utah to Maryland for school recently and we have a townhouse that we are looking to rent. we are currently remodeling and changing a few things before renting. what are the first steps to change my primary to a rental I lived there for about two years.

Lenders will want a letter from your employer that states you are allowed to work remote from where you currently live and that this move will not affect your income. 

Quote from @Ericka Parrott: Hi Dylan, I live here in Atlanta.

Based on your question, you have two core decisions to make, and they may conflict with one another - where do you want to live, and where do you want to invest?