(sweat/elbow grease equity) with you being home with the little ones you would be right there capable of handing concerns / repairs or calling contractors for the repairs in a timely manor, also doing / overseeing work / rehab on the units, so you could use being home full time to your advantage, and with school you will have that open block of time. i also understand that money is tight, it takes 2 in most cases to make ends meet these days but you guys sound like you have your head on strait an moving in the right direction to get out of debt and into a better standing point in your new location. but YES the idea of house hacking is to have the cash-flow pay your mortgage and if you have the numbers right, have the possibility to put a dollar or so in your pocket above expenses but do not expect allot above the payment for your first investment. but one thing to ask yourself is *what can i handle*  can you handle dealing with repairs or rehab or if not can you set up contractors to take care of your interests since i assume your partner is or will be still working. a duplex would be sufficient to start with to pay your mortgage if the rent comps/market allow it to match your expenses, but myself. if i was to house hack it would be a tri-plex or bigger,  yes it would be a challenge but if a duplex pays the mortgage think about the income from a tri-plex .  

Plus if allotting for new roof/heater/water heater every so many years, allotting 5-6% of that cost every year just helps with any big hit items in the future.Thoughts?

Big dreams and allot of work will need to be done but from everywhere I've been researching this group has everything i need to make this dream a reality so no matter your direction or skill set i would love to touch base and possibly meet up to see if i can help you  build your brand as well as mine!

What if you find a wholesale deal and you can not find a buyer in the allotted time?

This should translate into much higher cap rates when buying. 8-9% is far too low for this class of property.You should also have the seller remove their relative before closing to avoid a fight.If it's too late and you have committed you are probably in for a financial struggle.How much are you paying for the property and have you allotted a minimum 50% for expenses.

Hi David, I have had allot of luck with STR in the areas surrounding Seattle (Specifically Skagit County, Randell, and Skykomish).

I did payoff a mortgage of about $15k on a card once and paid it off in the allotted time and saved some interest money.

Due to this, he allotted for 50,000sqft of indoor storage with room for expansion, and the rest is outdoor/RV.

Now if you put in there that you wanted to quit your job in a year or two then yes it may require more than your allotted time.

You are in a position where you can easily put 20k of 30k (keep 10k in reserve and add to it regularly via allotment and now you have your investing fund ) into a small SFR In east Idaho and make a bit of cash flow and weather any mistake by a nice salary.