You don't have a home inspection to fall back on. 

That would be a typical scenario for me.

I plan to purchase a primary residence, multi-family home (2-5 units, 'house-hack'). 

Conventional lenders typically require a 6-month seasoning period from purchase before they’ll consider the appraised value for a cash-out refinance.

@Rory DarcyRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Typically, we are shooting for top of foundation to be 24 inches higher than the road and at least 36 inches above the bottom of the drainage.

Below is some copy & paste info about our methodology:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I've seen a lot of people try this, and they rarely use the home. 

I typically end up working on maintenance projects for 8-10 hours a day if I happen to use our properties, but hypothetically, it can be done.

Also, the term "house hacking" is generally used for your owner occupied home (renting out rooms in your primary home) and that income cannot be used to help you qualify (it is considered boarder income).