Definitely high cost of living, where the median home price is nearing $950k.The first year of house hacking the property I cut my mortgage in half.

I have a question and would really appreciate your input.I’ve done a couple of fix-and-flip projects in the past using hard money lenders, but I’ve noticed that their fees and interest rates significantly cut into my profits.

They could work with an existing lender, do some marketing to help broker, get a cut and make FARRRR more $ with zero risk vs this EMD lending. 

The best way for you to retire your wife is to increase your W2 income and to cut your expenses as much as you reasonably can. 

That cut down on complaints about not having enough toiletries for people with longer stays. 

As when people lose their jobs, the vacations they take is the first choice to cut back on. 

Heavy cases of clear cut fraud and flat out lying to their investors. 

While I didn't love the 30% cut they took, I was happy to have it in experienced hands (and a lot of what they did, advised, etc. was on-track with what I had researched, discovered here and on other STR forums).

They will typically take a cut of the development fee and it’s worth it.

And you can do it with little cash, 5% down conventional is better than 3.5% FHA.House hacking also gives you a chance to cut your teeth in all major skills: analyzing deals, buying process, financing, working with contractors, advertising for rent, background checks, property management.