In many countries foreign investors buying rentals can't get loans or loans at all. 

We were initially looking out of state for a potential move and or investment property just because the property taxes without being able to homestead, plus high cost of insurance, and harsh weather on homes made me feel like it might not be worth it.

Hey @Brandon LaRose, do you have the ability to use a Margin Loan against a taxable portfolio, or a policy loan against a permanent life policy?

@Kwanza P.Leveraged means using a loan (leverage) to buy the asset. 

They get a higher return since they are covering housing cost, have the $250k per spouse primary residence deduction in gains, is a savings account, higher leverage position, lower interest rate possible, will pay more premium for location, etc.House might be overpriced for REITs but not for home owners.  

They may call it by different names though, for example, "home-share endorsement".

The cost associated with insurance for not having 20% is peanuts compared to what you potentially can do leveraging your down payment. 

We could build larger, but there will be less Buyers and the home can potentially sit for longer and holding costs get expensive.Not saying building larger is wrong, but just giving you our reasoning for our home size.But I do 100% agree with you. 

Flipping homes?

Kieran, the best bet here is to refinance with a DSCR loan.