I’m hoping that once I do have enough saved I can buy the second property and continue house hacking.

Hey@Adrian Sopher Is your mom's house in Nashville?

The current status of the market is low end rentals land lords that let the houses look like crap. 

This comes from a 2017 City document, but it seems to be current.http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/report/oak050966.pdfA real pity, with the severe lack of housing in Oakland. 

I also paid interest on the loans.Is the utilities for the house that is completed and rented a expense deduction for the year or does it go into the basis?

In addition we do not accept any applications for longer move in than the remainder of the current month and the next month (so if tenant is unable to move in by march 1, they cannot apply until feb 1 as we are unwilling to go longer than that without rent and will hold another open house).S8 needs to streamline their process if they want to increase their housing options.Best wishes

Also, as long as the house appraises, taking broker commission and using it against down payment and closing costs means lower cash requirements for me which increases my CoC returns.

I have investor friends in LA area offering temporary free housing.

@Keith Mintz Will you be running the house or leasing to a company that does sober living.

So I would suggest keeping your STR property geographically close and doing as much as possible to keep your profit% high as possible.As far as the actual house you use, I would just say - be honest, be fair and strive for the best area, most amenities, cleanest house, best communication, and any other extras you can get.