Take them to coffee and pick their brain. 

anyone can buy a bad deal - just go on Zillow and pick the first property you see and buy it. 

Not sure what market you are in but I recommend looking for real estate investment group locally so you can network with other flippers and pick their brain.

Also had a random thought how it’s interesting that these laws are getting passed by the state and they seem to magically get altered in the subsequent years in very significant ways.

@Heather Baileywhy not pick a market within a couple hours? 

The only random thought that come to my head was I Just thinking about lateral versus vertical scaling.

My advice: don’t overthink it—your first house hack is about learning, so pick a strong rental market, ensure solid demand, and lock in a deal that gets you close to break-even or better.

Random things like this.I can only imagine if they did allow you to add all the bedrooms, they would make you also add fire sprinkler system and a commercial fire alarm system like residential assisted living. 

So how many did you pick up since the post ? 

I would not let a GC pick finishes - especially if its a flip - if anything get a realtor to assist.In regards to doing this from afar, I recommend hiring a project manager for a few grand per month to oversee the project for you, if not you are relying 100% on the GC which is not something I recommend.