The reality is most crashes have a quick recovery.The OP has an agenda and uses misleading statements (such as the companies that vanished when some were purchased at prices that returned great profits to the share holders) or outright falsehoods (17 years on average for a crashed stock to recover) to try to booster his agenda.My view is that money can be made on both stocks and RE. 

Reality:  There are others who are there and/or have people 'there', and others who have local knowledge and cash in their pockets.That sort of image is safe, you need to do nothing, it's a dream for now and will remain a good dream as long as you do not do anything.Just for you:Look at something close and ugly, e.g., 236 Alice Dr, Wilits, CA (I found this as I am writing to you here)https://www.google.com/maps/@39.38686,-123.3430735...This in your face, likely 'an ugly situation' all around, but it is there, and you will learn.When I was 20 years old a guy told me, "Look at 100 properties and make no offers until, and then after you have reached 100 make an offer on 101, and on everything you see"To me this suggested learning deeply about an area.Did I write 'harsh words? 

My goal is to make the house hacking a reality within the next couple of months before I start my job in June.

Maybe your market is different but in the national markets I've worked in over the last 25 years, it's not the first and best option.What I've seen more often is that even when it starts out great, the reality eventually sets in, and tension starts to grow, when they go from being the stewards of their own castle, to the stewards of someone else's castle.I'm happy for you that your experiences were different.

In reality it's a horrible business plan. 

Starting on the siding and roofing and all the finishing touches, we can’t wait to be done and start our next house which is vacant and demo begins in 3 weeks (follow to see updates) What I’m getting at is, the flipping world is not for the weak, you will get beat down, you will fail but in the end once you finally achieve your goals and jump those hurdles you’ll be sitting in a heating house looking at your accomplishments and realize everything you’ve worked so hard for this past few months is now a reality and it’s time to enjoy it!

Starting on the siding and roofing and all the finishing touches, we can’t wait to be done and start our next house which is vacant and demo begins in 3 weeks (follow to see updates) What I’m getting at is, the flipping world is not for the weak, you will get beat down, you will fail but in the end once you finally achieve your goals and jump those hurdles you’ll be sitting in a heating house looking at your accomplishments and realize everything you’ve worked so hard for this past few months is now a reality and it’s time to enjoy it!

Any advice, tips, or hard reality checks about this kind of deal would be greatly appreciated! 

That's reality.

The reality is, coastal real estate markets (SF, LA, NYC) are the best markets for returns.