We plan to spend the next 6-12 months continuing to earn and save, as well as nail down a final market we want to househack in.

@Robert Gorra - I've had a similar experience where I've had a really hard time with getting GC's to even give me an estimate, and the few that have have been way overpriced (ie, they want me to put in $20k of cabinets in a budget flip) or have had their prices go up by about 40% and still not give me a firm price when I try to nail down the scope of work.

But Andrew hit the nail on the head here! 

I learned about the city over time and began my out-of-state investing journey.Whatever market you choose, be sure to nail down your buy box.

You can point out spots like nail holes where they hung pictures, dirty spots in the apartment needing cleaning, blown outlets they are overusing, etc.

@John Underwood hit the nail on the head.

Years go by and eventually Grandpa gets tired of fixing porches, nailing gutters and steam cleaning carpets that 'have a couple more years in them. 

We realized the screws we were using were too small for the door hinge and we just had to finish that small bottom corner.1/26/25 - We went to Lowes and picked up some 1 1/2 inch door hinge screws (sound in the screw/nail section) and went back to the rental.

You hit the nail on the head...that's where the SFH to Duplex conversion gets financially unrealistic.

Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy nailed it when he said mortgage rates have a massive impact on affordability.