When a tenant moves out, transfer the deposit back to Checking so it's ready to apply towards expenses or refund the Tenant.If you end up with excess funds in the Checking account, I recommend you transfer it to a third account designated explicitly for future investments.

If you have a 20 year timeline, I'd probably recommend B areas closer to the city or in the better school districts in the suburbs for the highest combined ROI over that time period.Right now you can expect to find decently turnkey multis for about $60-$125k/unit usually all at least hitting the 1% rule in that range.

If you're open to expanding your search, I also recommend checking Columbus OH - lots of deals that still bring positive cash flow and great appreciation potential.

However, the biggest con is that you are sacrificing a bit of your privacy by living right by your tenants and it is usually a lot more stressful since everything is your responsibility - managing tenant issues, handyman repairs, taking care of the lawn, etc.I would strongly recommend house hacking especially in the Columbus Ohio market!

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

What would you recommend?

If you're looking for a more landlord-friendly market, I personally recommend Columbus OH.

If you're open to looking at some resources here's what I would recommend you start with based on what you've said:1.

Any advice or tools you’d recommend would be really helpful!

I would recommend against being the GC unless you are confident of doing more than one effort.