Our initial goal was to buy a duplex and house-hack it.

If you are setting your strategy based on that goal, your growth curve flattens too soon!

Memphis has a pretty affordable housing market and tends to offer solid rental yields, which might align well with your goals.

Quote from @Michael Lynch: People rarely talk about the amount of effort involved in operating a STR.Never sell a property unless you have a clear plan to reinvest the money into something that will perform better or move you closer to your goals.

Find one thing you can do rn to achieve that first goal. 

My goal is more for passive income/break even along with wealth later in life, currently 35 YO.

I would recommend a combination of a house-hack and an investment property depending on your current cash position, short-term and long-term goals. 

The initial goal is immediate cashflow that will quickly increase as we fix-up and/or lease up the properties.

An LLC on its own is not going to accomplish your goals as the CRA considers LLC's to be "disregarded entities".

Hello @Daniel Windingstad,Live where you like but invest where you can make money.Out-of-state investing is often your best option if your goal is financial freedom through real estate, because the chances of living in a city that can support this goal are slim.