JeffWe lead a couple investor meet up groups in person and live stream about the Central Ohio real estate market.

You will appreciate what a couple of month of effort and education can do for your credit with very little financal output.

I'm out West at the moment, but will probably be returning to Tokyo before too much longer.At the risk of being contrarian, after picking up a couple of investment properties in Japan (one Tokyo, one outskirts), I shifted to a strategy of only investing in the US. 

I lived for free for a couple years, while collecting rent checks. 

Here in TN we issue POQ within a couple of days of rent being overdue, usually giving them 14 days to correct before official eviction proceedings start.

In the pitch I include just a couple of my projects from the last year as a reference to my experience. 

In my opinion, the best "first step" is to find a local REIA to attend. 

You're likely better off attending your local REI meet-up to see if you can find an investor who has house-hacked or is currently house-hacking their primary home.

Homeowners who sell their primary residence must pay taxes on profits exceeding $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples).

Have you tried attending your local REIA's and real estate meet-up groups?