Hire me to get your data from counties to be the first to access them (the leads that is they all come from county records and the like).

In neighborhoods that won't attract high credit score tenants, I've found that a stable job history with a MINIMUM of 1 year at current or previous job to be the best indicator of a great tenant. 

I'm at the very early stages of my decision making process but wanted to explore some options regarding location and decide whether or not the USDA loan route would be the best way to go.

The biggest thing you'd have to manage after purchasing the right deal for you would be the property manager, so you can make sure he's managing your property how you'd like.  

It will be the best investment you ever made.

The requirement for income documentation will be the biggest difference between a credit card and a line of credit for working capital from a bank.

House Hacking continues to be the unfair advantage for new investors especially if you are open minded to leveraging a few different types of strategies in your house hack. 

@Michael K Gallagher Oh Costar seems to be the best, almost the North Star lol.

And4)We currently pay 1,100 monthly rent, would renting or a live in flip be the better strategy for our situation?

So if you are working with a PM to manage your property, and they recommend a certain price that may be lower than you would like and not cover the mortgage, why do you think that would be? The