There are towns that are not too far where there could be some options for you, but I would start going to real estate investor meetups and pair that with books and podcasts.

The property ended up being his book keeper's home that she had rented out and was needing to sell.

Here are a few initial thoughts and observations for both scenarios which might be useful in guiding your next move:Scenario 1: Leave your Current Primary Residence & Buy Another House to Hack Locally1.

Good you are researching this topic - I also love subject tos and have written a book on the topic.  2. 

Find a good lender, get pre approved, make sure you practice running the #'s using the 100's of videos and guides from BP, find an investor friendly Realtor, and then start making offers on any property that meets your goal.

(Google UBIT or read Tom Wheelwright's book Tax-Free Wealth)Investing actively in real estate through an SDIRA voilates the self-dealing rule for IRAs.  

My dream is to achieve financial freedom through multifamily rental properties and live life on my own terms.Recently, I have been reading one book after another, trying to absorb as much information as possible, and am extremely thankful to finally find this amazing community.

I picked up the BRRRR method book and feeling confident in setting it all up (we did a similar process for our Airbnbs).  

I started listening to the podcast and reading real estate books about two months ago, and I’m excited to take my first step into real estate investing.I’m currently in Spokane, WA, and I’m pre-approved for a loan.

This is pretty clean.Scenario 2:  Your partner has owned the house for 15 years and has been taking accelerated depreciation, so the book value of the house is very low.