This is a great place to learn and to connect with people so take advantage of all the great resources.

Live in one half, rent out the other.

Borrowers like that.Since money is the lifeblood of all house flips, I consider this a win-win for everyone.

So if 3 siblings all buy a house together and all live in it when they sell up to $750k can be excluded.If married only one person needs to meet the ownership requirement-but both must meet the use requirement. 

I co-owned a franchise for 15 years, we paid over $1.3 million in rent.

Wind is one of the subtle items that Insurance companies are starting to exclude. 

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

I have a team of two who do texting campaigns and one who does cold calls.

Than be smart, site back and listen, take it all in, be a good student. 

I've considered going Dave Ramsey and buying a house with cash and upping my budget to $100k in a smaller market, but that would blow almost all my savings, and $100k just doesn't get you much anymore.