If you can offer a nice unit that is updated for slightly lower than market value, it is going to keep your vacancy rate at a near 2% per year. 

Capacity and Tolerance. 1) Capacity: how many people can you comfortably fit in the property, is there room to add more, or add more value to the tenants to increase rent.2) Tolerance: How many people are you comfortable living with, if there are vacancies are you able to handle that.House hacking is an amazing path to homeownership, and a nice low barrier to entry into self managing your properties.

I did get grandfathered in and the area where I bought is in a nice part of town. 

And yes, we always coordinate our visits with the tenants and send an email ahead of time explaining what we do and where we'll look.  

We are also wondering whether it would be better to try and find something located closer to Nashville within 5-15 minutes that may not be as nice of a home or property for our budget or find something that is around 20-30 minutes from Nashville in the White House Tn area, but a nicer home within our budget.

We live in Germany, but go to the USA once a year to visit.

Here is my simple Top 5:1.Review the market – Understand the trends and conditions in the area.2.Analyze the property and the numbers – Ensure the deal makes financial sense.3.Visit the property – There’s no substitute for seeing it firsthand.4.Meet the team – Whether it’s your property manager, builder, or contractor, relationships matter.5.Complete inspections and appraisals – These protect you from costly surprises.If all these boxes are checked and the numbers work for your goals, then it’s likely a solid deal.

@Min Zhang Nice work, Min!

Before you know it you will have a nice portfolio to continue to grow.  

That $15.6K/year in profit from the new property adds up, especially when you factor in potential appreciation over time.As far as the Roth 401(k) goes, the growth potential is nice, but it’s not going to generate the same kind of passive income you’re going to see with real estate.