It’s never as simple as it first appears, which is why we always advise our clients to let the math guide the choice.

If that makes home buying affordable without putting you in a pinch financially, go for it.

I'm looking to buy a house in the St Pete market & have read zoning regulations, articles about STR (anything less than 30 days) and have discussed with my realtor.  

If you find an investor to buy them, send them my way for the loan.

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).

I hope to buy my own property in the next 2-3 years (maybe sooner) so let me know if you want to connect!

The real estate investing industry uses "Classes" to rank property performance risk, but there's NO agreed upon industry model:(Here's what we use for our Metro Detroit market:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

If I was starting from scratch, I would buy a duplex/triplex/quadplex, live in the crappiest unit and rent the others out.

He bought his first couple houses in the first year or two and didn’t buy much for a few years.

If its an investment property and you want to buy out your partner, while you probably have a really good rate - you could get a loan if you have the equity in that property.