Begin by educating yourself through books like The House Hacking Strategy and podcasts like BiggerPockets, and join online communities for support.

@Angelica Byrnecan you just save up enough until you are able to house hack? 

Which is why I think house hacking is best for 90% plus of new buy and hold investors.I wrote an article on this a while back that goes into more depth and you might find that helpful: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/get-a-loan

Sullivan shares data on America’s Affordable Housing Crisis.

Is the property just a regular-style house or something you can build an experience around?  

Because you are forcing equity into the house you are sometimes able to pull back out the entire purchase and rehab process to return to your investor then you own the home with just the mortgage.

What the city housing clerk is telling me is that there was a water leak from behind the sink pedestal on the second floor bathroom that has been running for a week. 

Hey BP Family,A neighbor of mine passed away about 2 months ago and I have been trying to contact the family (trust) to see if they were going to be selling the property. I don't want to overstep because the gentleman...

Consider starting small with house hacking a duplex or triplex, and use tools like the BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator to analyze deals.Good luck!

The biggest things for our energy bills are: how many ac units are on the house and do you have a hot tub.