As @Ryan Thomson alluded to, house hacking is a great way to get started in a strong market and benefit from cash flow and appreciation with very little cash out of pocket and low risk.

@Ryan Thomson I think rent to own is a great idea!

Thanks @Ryan Thomson and @Will Barnard - time to hit the pavement. 

@Ryan Thomson thank you for the response, yeah I’m definitely over thinking this for sure.

@Ryan Thomson.

Quote from @Ryan Thomson: For a pure rental property you can depreciate the the purchase price of the house minus the value of the land divided by 27.5.

@Ryan Thomson I have not yet met with a lender -- I am still a bit away from the time when I plan to start the house search.

Quote from @Ryan Thomson: @Tony Mbuthia i just wrote a blog about this topic.

Quote from @Ryan Thomson: @Tyler Fitzpatrick just know if you do a triplex that may be tough to qualify for 5% down b/c it likely won't pass the self sufficiency test for FHA loans.

Just to give you an idea of the commute, it took him an hour to drive from the highway 76 off of the 15 freeway to the intersection of Thomson and Winchester Rd in Winchester, CA (aka French Valley).