Since currently I have "excess income" from my w2 because I do not need to pay primary mortgage, I could re-invest the money to property that gives "lifestyle benefit", just like you building cabin in AZ/lakeside/etc with minimal risk.

I have 20k saved and plan to use an FHA 203K loan and house hack to net zero/cash flow minimally on my first investment.

You have no liability if the router needs reset and you're in Europe for another two weeks - you don't have to interrupt your vacation to get a vendor to go into your home and fix/diagnose, or get to the secure part of a building where you store that equipment. 

He ended up finding a local portfolio lender that allowed him to househack a couple properties with minimal employment.

Be sure to employ pattern-interruption also.

What are you going to do to avoid having your operations interrupted?

North of town, west of I-5: 95219 Brookside (high end gated communities; Mello Roos school taxes - so high taxes; Lincoln School District; some peat dirt problems on streets; don't know about foundations); Spanos Park West (some gated; lots of huge houses; basically built for commuters just west of I-5; Lodi School District) North of town, east of I-5: 95209 Spanos Park East, Colonial Heights (most Lodi Unified Schools; though small pocket of Lincoln Unified) North of town, east of I-5: 95207 Parkwoods and Lincoln Village (Lincoln Unified Schools; was considered best family area due to Lincoln Schools, but lots of flat tops and built since the 1950s so electrical can be kind of minimal - 1 outlet in kitchen instead of enough to use multiple appliances); lot of remodeling in this area.

For instance, let's say you do the rehab and go to rent it...considering the relatively low value of the property, it's reasonable to expect that the tenants will have low or no credit, they may be unemployed or on income assistance, they may have minimal employment options, and/or they may have a very spotty history with prior rentals.

That’s helping it cash flow very minimally.

Selecting the right location and property type is crucial to maximizing rental income and minimizing vacancies.Airbnbs: Your initial capital could cover the down payment on a property in a location with high Airbnb demand.