I'd start with a 1-4 unit to hack, use the income to knock out your student loans, then focus on building a nest egg for your next investment.

Don't rush, be conservative, use no more than 20% of your nest egg for TLI. 

I had mice build a nest in our oven once.

We have been able to build up our nest egg in our real estate business so far which would cover some major maintenance issues if they arise but again it makes me nervous that we may be too close to maxed out.

I wouldn’t shake a bees nest until you hear complaints from the other tenants .

Hello, My wife and I just put in a Google Nest Thermostat in our townhome.

You state that you want to avoid syndications but investing in syndications might be a way for you to build your nest egg by investing passively through other operators.

Then you can begin building that nest egg and expanding when you and your family are ready. 

We've overheard her on the nest telling a neighbor how strict we are so I'm sure she has said negative things about us.

Going full time into real estate always sounds great in the beginning, but in reality if you don't have a nest egg, you can really put yourself into a bad situation.