I currently live in Phoenix, AZ but I'm looking to purchase land and put two prefab homes on it with my business partner.

My airbnb posting just went live yesterday. 

House hacking is an incredible way to live affordably while building wealth through real estate.

Yes, the initial plan was to purchase a single-family home, renovate it, expand, and live in it.

I stuck to it and it has treated me well over the years.I did not start investing ( other than buying a home to live in) till many years later..

Me and my partner moved from Utah to Maryland for school recently and we have a townhouse that we are looking to rent. we are currently remodeling and changing a few things before renting. what are the first steps to change my primary to a rental I lived there for about two years.

There's always gonna be poor people and those poor people are always gonna need a place to live.

I live in western washington. 

Quote from @Marc Zak: In the market where I live (San Diego), appreciation has been strong and many predict it will continue to appreciate in the long term.However, with current interest rates (6% at best) and property tax (2%), the annual cost burden is 8%.Am I correct in saying that appreciation has to be above 8% annually (plus whatever my maintenance and vacancy costs are) for me to make any money in this scenario if the property is cash flow neutral?

Lived in it and sold it a few years later.