I am exiting the rental market here (love living here tho). 

Strategy 1: buy a duplex, live in one unit (for one year as a "primary residence) and rent out another unit as a short-term / mid-term rental on Airbnb.

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

I've been living in my current house hack for ~1.5, and I placed my tenants in September 2023 (lease is up at the end of August).

If you are living there you can keep the 4% rate.If you are not living there you can rent it out to pay for the property taxes. 

Tenants should be paying the owner.Do you also live in the house?

I live in California but am looking to invest in Texas, Alabama.  

This is where you live in one side.

If you're willing and able, I do recommend the "house hacking" strategy which is just a fancy name for buying a rental property and living in one of the units, because you'll get very favorable financing - an owner-occupied fixed-rate 30-year mortgage.I'd also say, analyze that property as if you won't live there and it's a pure rental, and make sure the property is still cash flow positive if there's a tenant in your unit because then you'll know if it's actually a good investment.And when you analyze it, include payment of a property manager in your #s because if you don't, and doing so would make it go cash flow negative, then you've just bought yourself a job because you literally can't step away from managing it without losing money.

2) If you do owner-occupied cashout refi for best rate, you technically have to live in the home for 12 months before renting it out. * Some responders here may suggest not worrying about that and renting it out anyways.