Stable and functional should be the goal, though that may take some explaining to new buyers.Side note: 10% (probably closer to 20% for just material and labor) permit fee is ridiculous, that wouldn’t cost me more than $100 in my area.

You might also consider getting a Heloc if you have a stable/good paying job since you can use/reuse it over and over as you pay it down/off with your income.

What is the ideal way to house hack if you don't have stable income to put a down payment?

Standard Home Depot off the shelf wood

Schools (www.greatschools.org) Elementary:Middle school:High school:Employment characteristics (www.city-data.com/) Unemployment rate:Employment appears permanent/stable or temporary?

I plan on meeting with a lender next month.You are right, seeing how much I qualify for will help me narrow my search.I guess I’m struggling with whether to rent my current house out and buy another home,live in it and then rent that out (house hack)Or if I should just buy an investment property, see how it goes and then move out of my current home when I am more financially stable. 

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Anoka.

Purchase price: $180,000

Cash invested: $36,000

4 Bedroom 2 Bath House
Was my primary residence for 4 years
Rents for $157...

These (not the counters) will probably last 50-100 years and could last forever.Home Depot/Menards/Lowes cabs (off-the-shelf oak-faced w/ particle board sides and backs) would have been about $1500-$1800 unfinished, uninstalled, without any soft-close stuff, and I would have had to fit stock sizes in a non-standard space.

In general Kennesaw is a good location for buy and hold investing, good schools, good location relative to highways and Atlanta Metro, and a stable economy.

You may want to look into more turnkey investments where you can invest $1M of equity in a more stable asset class and target a cap rate of 7%+ and simply hire someone to manage the investment for you.