My plan would be use the 401k kind of like a hard money loan where I'd acquire the property, rehab it, then refinance long term, pay off the 401k loan and get it rented.

Even in the US when you have a mortgage, you should have a profitable investment if it satisfies the 1% rule.The 1% rule is generally applied to long-term rentals.

This way they can't claim they have been in the house long enough to be domiciled - this is for squatters. 

LTRs with long term conventional financing and standard management aren't really cash flowing anywhere right now. sure, there are lower cost markets that look better on paper, but there are costs associated with those supposedly cheap markets as well - deferred maintenance, more challenging tenant base, higher cost turnovers as a percentage of the rent.2. i wouldn't pick a random market thousands of miles away based solely on statistics or numbers. 

Petersburg for over 30 years, I can attest that the last two big hurricanes caused significant damage, but they were the first in a long time.Condos and townhomes tend to perform well, especially if they're located on the Intracoastal Waterway or within 3-5 miles of the beaches.

So reality is this will be a very long road of many years. 

.: In a prior post from about 2 months ago, Kerry Malarkey and Nathan Gesner mentioned a small landlord is exempt from FHA requirements requiring the acceptance of emotional support & assistance animals if one of the following is true:"Owner-occupied buildings Properties with four units or fewer that are owned and lived in by the ownerSingle-family homes Homes that are sold or rented without a broker by the owner, as long as the owner doesn't own more than three at once" (Quote from Nathan's reply))https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/1219359-pitbu...Given this, if a landlord does qualify for the exemption, what exactly does this mean? 

While I don’t own investments there, I’ve explored the market and see potential for some long-term growth.

Year 3 and Long-Term ROI: $3,102 Principal Paydown year 3 (this will keep increasing each year as you pay off your mortgage $21,600 Property Appreciation (assuming 8% per year) $2,568 Yearly Cash Flow (this will increase as rents rise)Total Gain Year3: $ $27,270 giving you 113.55% ROI on your $ $24,015 left in the deal.

I don't use Michael, but if I didn't have the CPA am using(long story), he would be the guy.