@Timothy Lawrence House hacking in PG County, MD, or nearby areas like Hyattsville, Silver Spring, or Alexandria, VA, is a good option, especially with student tenants from UMD.

For a simple/budget-friendly option, Google sheets/Excel can actually be a great starting point.8.

I’ll continue to explore a couple other options in the meantime. 

During period of low interest every post on BP was about cash flow - now that cash flow upon acquisition is dead the only option is equity which is also reeling because price appreciation is finally back to realitypersonally I buy for growth because I buy to hold for 10-20 years or longer.

Are there no better options, like a REIT's, Stocks, Bitcoin, or other things?

Hey Jimmy, I can help you go over your mortgage options as a first time self employed home buyer.

And then finally, there is always the option to just claim the regular standard mileage deduction rate of $0.67/mile. 

We do it up the hill Reno and with a good agent they can give you all the options and guide you through the process.

For the most part vs focusing on a specific neighborhood or two I would say keep you options open to all. 

I turned to the Diontalk Binder strategy which educates the tenants on the current price of market rents, section 8, etc, and what I could potentially earn if they were to move out ( In this case being 1500 for a 3b 1ba). they then realize this and know paying a $400 increase (36.6% Increase) would be the best option vs moving out, living in cheaper housing, or going to market rent in the area.