This was much “cheaper”, but frustrating.

However, I will say from experience, the midwest will allow you to cashflow well at a significantly cheaper price point but you will see very little appreciation.

This is especially true when you utilize low money down to purchase multifamily.Caution with Out-of-State Investing: Investing out of state entails complexities and reliance on unfamiliar parties, which may pose challenges compared to local investments where you can easily drive to and learn more quickly about.Realistic Assessment of "Cashflow" Markets: While investing in cheaper, cashflow-focused markets out of state is popular, it's important to recognize that the numbers on paper often differ from reality, and success stories may not represent the norm.Manage Expectations: Be wary of overly optimistic narratives and calculations, and ensure your investment decisions are grounded in realistic expectations and thorough research.

A fix n flip type loan may be the "easiest" but a conventional loan will still be cheaper. 

Not saying HOAs are perfect, but i also think they get a bad rap sometimes. and honestly, its cheaper to get insurance for a condo than for a house.

But also are there any other options that are cheaper that you could add to your shortlist?

wondering if there's something cheaper but good!

CPAs generally charge more to amend a return especially if it's a mess so self-filing and having a CPA clean up your mess later, if you get it wrong, won't necessarily be cheaper....

If you make a couple of assumptions - i.e. rent in any given market is somewhere around 25%-30% cheaper than the cost of a monthly mortgage payment - you can find out pretty fast what's better for you.

Also, people become spiteful about paying taxes when its sometimes cheaper to pay the tax -- already had a real life example with another person's post.