My original idea was to "house hack" and buy a duplex to live in one unit which he advised against.

This also begins YOUR title seasoning, so that when you're ready to take out a traditional mortgage, you can refinance and pay off the seller without a title seasoning issue. you can buy title insurance from the title company at closing. this is a good idea. 

This is an interesting idea - I've actually thought about it a lot lately. 

I have no idea what MTR or STR mean.

Great idea thanks Mason!

You have an idea that you want to promote.  

Jacob,Good points, and I support your ideas about giving back.

Any idea how to get principal pay down in a custom report?

One out of the box idea that might be cool is to implement an educational feature similar to learning a new language on Duolingo.

You can get an idea yourself looking at comps in the area.