That being said, if it provides me a significant advantage or a starting point, I think it would be foolish not to utilize it.Therefore, given these two different perspectives/starting points, I'd love to hear any potential advice on which strategies/niches to focus on first, and for which starting point.

I would love to benefit from the savings of grouping the listings as a primary with add-ons, but the last time I tried that, there were multiple issues on their end.

We have a primary home, short-term rentals as well as paper investments. 

Based on the tenor of your posts, I've got to ask - do you have your primary residence squared away?

You could do something like what you want if it was your personal primary residence and even then the interest rate would be ugly. 

The HML covered 100% of the $32,500 rehab budget through drawbacks.Refinance: Post-rehab, I refinanced into a primary mortgage, creating 25.5% equity in the property.Future Financing: I plan to leverage the property with a HELOC to access up to $86,000 in capital for future deals.

Denver has a lot of older properties with value-add potential—small upgrades like fresh paint, updated kitchens, or even just better landscaping can make a big difference in forcing appreciation.

I'm looking to purchase my first property with my fiancé (both 25) with the goal being to establish our primary residence together, as well as giving me the opportunity to add equity/value via rehab before moving on and converting the property into a rental within a year or so to kickstart an investment portfolio.An interesting lead that recently came up is my parent's neighbor's house.

Just make sure you take your policy to the brokers so they can do a direct comparison.Maybe hit up your primary home insurer to see if they offer a STR policy.

You're likely better off attending your local REI meet-up to see if you can find an investor who has house-hacked or is currently house-hacking their primary home.