Leveraging debt is our foundation as investors, but paying it down when we can will always open up more opportunities to get creative with out money later on. 

Building credit and a strong foundation are huge accomplishments, and West Palm Beach is an exciting market for house hacking.

There will be title issues, probate issues, original seller not willing to close issues, appraisal issues, hard money lender issues, family says grandma not in her right mind to sell at 50% discount issues, termite issues, foundation issues, structural issues, can't get insurance issues, I don't have any money to move out issues, or a whole host of other problems.Well...every now and then you find someone that wants to dump one and it is a clean deal and they think because they are not using a realtor, they're saving 6%. 

They’re a great way to learn the entire process of property investment, from acquisition to management, and provide a solid foundation for scaling your portfolio down the line.

It may take a few years to get there, but you'll start from a strong foundation and be far more likely to succeed.

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

It's a great starter book for the financial foundations of real estate investing: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/set-for-life-revise...I would also recommend Small and Mighty by Chad Carson: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/small-and-mighty-re...Real Estate Rookie: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/real-estate-rookieHouse Hacking: https://store.biggerpockets.com/products/the-house-hacking-s...

You asked about buying older properties and the biggest issues I have found is that roofs need to be replaced, HVAC needs servicing/replaced, and sometimes there are foundational issues (not super common). 

You are trying to build on a very fluid and shaky foundation.

The next slab foundation I have that needs new flooring I plan on doing concrete staining.