Just hoping to get some opinions real quick......I live in a gated Lake community in California... 

I have a 3/2.5 in Old Lake Highlands near White Rock Lake (~1 mile) that my family and I are living in as a primary residence, but I have been thinking about house hacking into another house and then doing a MTR on this 3/2.5.

I am under contract on a lake front house but still in the due diligence period - I just learned that it's designated flood zone A.

You see what's going on in Forest Hills??

Hi @Lake Bradford, there are some properties that are still available for rental and you can limit your search to those or you can consider buying and once you decide if you want to move elsewhere, sell the condo and take the equity/appreciation and invest in a home elsewhere. 

We ran my in-laws mountain/lake STR for 7 years before they decide to sell the property. 

I just checked my lake house because we are considering an off-market house down the street for STR. 

I'm starting to look at Reno/Lake Tahoe which is about a 4 hour drive and Las Vegas but my goals are different from yours - I would buy this house to rent out and in the future, move into it as a primary when I decide to retire/semi-retire (Nevada has no state income tax unlike CA).

This is called missing the forest for the trees investing wise. 

Neighborhoods on the shores of Lake Travis, in Round Rock and in Driftwood are among the hottest housing markets in the Austin area.