Hi @Leonard La Rocca III welcome to BPWith a goal to house hack your option will be much better and tremendously more favorable.1. $50k gets you the house but leaves you very little room for value add. 

Killeen is one option.

Do plenty of research and find out what other mistakes have been made in your are and learn from them.Both are great options but maybe doing a simple pros/cons list for both STR and LTR.

They provide flexibility and efficiency, especially for experienced investors.How have you found the terms and structure compared to traditional options?

Memphis was an option on our list before we decided to try Midwest first.

Pooling investor money into a debt fund is another option for you, but seems outside of your current approach, Brendan. 

The other thing to note is most times Pref equity is pretty save assuming a 10-20% market correction but in 2021-2023 we saw a 30% correction meaning pref equity in deal specific deals were underwater without any options.

Another option is to explore private lenders or HELOCs to cover the equity.

The headache of playing peacemaker between 3-5 unrelated tenants doesn't sound worth the premium management fee; not to mention rent by room generally brings in lower quality tenants which require significant more management.With that said, higher rates are pushing investors toward rent by room simply because it's the only option for cash flow (at least in Denver) which is why I have so many folks reaching out.If you currently have rent by room investments or perhaps you're a PM currently offering rent by room, I'd love to hear your feedback and any advice you may have. 

If you’re weighing options in Chicago or have an eye on emerging neighborhoods in that city, I can get you in touch with someone who knows their way around the Windy City’s rental regs and local quirks.