Huge fan of Costa Rica myself - bet it was hard to let go of that house but this is great.

I'm looking for a cheaper and more sustainable option than renting and figured house hacking (buying a duplex) while rehabbing, then renting the other unit, and refinancing would be my best bet.  

I bet the same concerns about litigation existed when people first proposed credit scores and insurance scores.

Your best bet would be a community bank. 

Probably not, you'd probably only consider this because you had bad credit or low income or something that prevents you from living in a safer place.I bet the turnkey provider has rents too high for the area as well...Can you make money on this type of asset...sure but not by paying 70k for it.

Our current investment horizon is about 1 year our so it seems like a savings account is our best bet to keep the cash liquid.

Sure you're going to make mistakes, that's inevitable, but before long I bet a few family members are pulling you aside after Thanksgiving dinner to quietly ask about your "risky" investments and how they can get involved.

But a community bank is your best bet, your larger institutions will need atleast 250 members.

., don’t forget the CPA and Lawyer costs) Again Net Operating Income is calculated before debt - what matters more is the NET Annual Income (or annual cash flow): NET Annual Income = Net_Operating_Income - Mortgage_PaymentsAnd that leads to the Cash on Cash Return on Investment: C/C ROI = Annual Cash Flow / (Down Payment + Closing Costs)And I’m willing to bet you don’t get C/C ROI above 10% on any SFR in Austin area (based on these calculations and bought with conventional means, not subject-to or assumptions, or owner financing or other creative financing).

Your best bet is to get to know wholesalers and other investors especially the seasoned ones since they will come across deals before they hit the market.I am not sure if all that rambling helped at all!