I should have known better but was the first time and it's been quite the learning experience so far. 

They are better suited for other exit strategies.

And I understand that it’s about applying yourself as well.Do you have any programs you’ve tried and had better a better experience? 

However a more experienced person might now better all the details 

Over the years I've noticed that it's very helpful to simply go visit in person your city of interest to get a better understanding of the market and the people that live there. 

After some minor maintenance projects and improvements, have had very few issues and cashflow has been slightly better than expected.

Hi @Tim Holt I think in general house hacking is usually a good move because it gets you off the sidelines and into the game with the most favorable financing possible (30 year fixed).There's a lot of value in getting started today vs waiting some undefined number of years until conditions are better, which could be a long time from now, because real estate is a business and the sooner you start actually learning about that business, the better.With all that said, I always recommend that people analyze any potential house hack as a pure investment that they aren't going to live in, because someday they may want to move out and you should know up front (before you commit) whether you're going to be able to do that, or whether you're overpaying and will be stuck in the property unable to move out because it'll be cash flow negative if you do.So you had it exactly right when you wrote, "the property would need to cash flow when I move out and rent out all units."

Challenges like this can ultimately set the stage for a better-performing asset in the long run.

When sdat and city taxes updates there will be no question though that could take months.A lot of the better pms void this by only managing in the better parts of Baltimore city or the suburbs. 

Of course, nobody wants to be the test case, but I've never heard of IRS treating money from a loan as income, ever.I think you would be better off with a long closing date on the purchase and sell your exchange property fast so you can do a conventional 1031, receive conventional financing with one set of start up fees/costs, etc.