I see this is posted in the house-hack forum so I'll make the assumption that you want to owner-occupy your next investment.To work more hands-on, you'll want to spend time searching for deals, analyzing deals, and networking/building a team.Before your property search, I'd recommend speaking with a lender to find out how much you'll qualify for.

The first tenant I raised $650 and they contacted me to find out why they had been singled out and I had to explain that the increases were going to be across the board.

House hacking with an FHA is a great option, with that loan, you can get up to 4 units and also use the income from the other units to qualify with the back and DTI.

Their office staff ordering the microwave and coordinating delivery and install would qualify as "labor," so I don't think there's much there. 

You can find the properties through this website: https://listings.vrmco.com/Just a word of caution for anyone with student loans, New American's qualifying criteria are similar to FHA - when calculating DTI, they will use 1% of your outstanding student loan balance rather than your actual monthly payment. 

That is reality because the receiver of the info has no skin in the game, nothing to  hold them to the "advice".

FHA and conventional loans are available for such for non-permanent residents, but there are quite a few rules so I can't be sure you'd qualify without talking further.

Opportunity Zones are designated distressed areas where long-term investment and development are encouraged.3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Opportunity ZonesDefer or Eliminate Capital Gains Tax ObligationsWhen investing in Opportunity Zones through a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), you have the potential to defer your capital gains taxes.

The issue I'm running into with this is the area I'm planning on moving to isn't exactly the most affordable, and so even with 0% down, you still have to make the mortgage payments, and you're only qualified for up to an amount supportable by your in-place income, which of course makes sense.

Most Realtor board documents have clauses and you should have filled out a Short sale rider when you listed the property.2.