My son currently lives in the townhouse b/c he is going to school and works in the area.Since he is young and starting out in life, I would like for him to only cover the basic costs (taxes, HOA, utilities) just enough for me to break even (I believe that will put him slightly little lower than market rent rates). 

Living in a camper van for 3 years while working remotely is impressive — that kind of adaptability definitely carries over to real estate.

Unless you have the rentals paid for by the time you retire, they aren't going to be enough to live off of. 

I do pretty decent for my age, and I live at home still, so I've been saving up a lot of money.

•If you qualify, you could use FHA’s 3.5% down payment to acquire a duplex or co-living property, live in one unit, and rent out the rest.

Most people assume that house hacking means living in a 2 bedroom 1 bath duplex.

People are looking to live smaller or some are being forced to live smaller, hence the insane growth in apartments and storages.

Along with personal reasons IE living with tenant. 

Hi Adriana, I am a commercial real estate investor in the U.S. but I live in Dubai.In terms of the BRRR strategy, you could probably do a fix and flip in some of the older villa communities like the Springs, Meadows, or Arabian Ranches 1.

Based on your question, you have two core decisions to make, and they may conflict with one another - where do you want to live, and where do you want to invest?