Quote from @Briley Roe: my interest rate is 7.75, and 8.25.

My thoughts are current housing supply + high rates + high home prices in OR are restricting our options and liquidating the brokerage to pay off the townhouse = $400k asset + $2,400 cash flow that we could then use to leverage or save into buying another property outright or scale into 4 plex and use the rent to pay down that mortgage too.

Interest rates are NOT high right now.

We have been working in the affordable housing space for some time, and this allowed us to partner with the local community and provide a housing solution they need as their city continues to expand with new jobs they are successfully bringing to town.

I don't think your first property needs to be perfect, but doing the work in advance gives you the possibility of refi (in a good rate environment) or more equity on a HELOC.

If house hacking isn't the best option for me, how would you recommend starting out to build up some investments.

Also, there is a need in the marketplace for a co-living PM company that doesn't charge too high of rate. 

Anyone in NWA looking to house hack a 4plex?

But you also SHOULD have some vacancy and some capex on an 80 year old house. 

The original goal, rightly or wrongly, was to maximize rentable units, so we rebuilt the main house from the foundation up into a 3 bed 2 Bath 1,600 sq foot main house, and added a 600 sq ft 1 Bed 1 Bath JADU, along with a 1,200 sq ft 3 Bed 3 Bath ADU.