People love it, and for only $13, its worth the price of an enhanced guest experience and higher chance of a 5-star review.  

Remember to account for potential surprises.

Unless you are talking serious money, which I would say is 2k or more in excess taxes, it may not be worth your effort.

Who is worth following? 

One has a 162k mortgage, $1250 tax,Insurance,%3.5 30 yr, worth at least 750,000 LTR rent $3200, #2- Los Angeles worth   $750k as well just did a remodel of 150 K, mortgage is 75,000 payment $700.tax,Ins, Mtr/str hybrid.

This is not worth the effort and risk of owning a duplex.

I remember a new wholesaler agent that didn't have any buyers, so she went to the meetup for other wholesaler companies and start building her buyer database from there. 

Overall it’s harder, but probably worth the effort to get better returns.

To answer your title directly, house hacking is entirely worth it and if you're willing to be a landlord it's 100% the best springboard to financial independence.

It’s packed with great insights and worth checking out.Your plan to house hack and scale up is a solid move.