So, your focus may need to pivot from high rental cash flow to little to no cash flow as a rental with an appreciation upside.I would recommend taking your $150K to $200K and securing a solid equity position in something that will cover its expenses and maybe provide a small cash flow, but then is poised to appreciate nicely over the course of the next several years. 

I already have 5 rentals jsut trying to scale  little bit.  

We are looking to move from that, to a rental property, or a self storage property.Hey @Steve Wortman, welcome to the BP Forum!

We don't have much capital to work with outside the equity in our current home, but should be able to come up with first/last/deposit on a rental without selling.  

Strategy 2: buy a single-family house with at least 4 bd, live in one room, rent out the rest of rooms as a mid-term rental on Airbnb / long-term rental.

I’m giving myself about 2-3 months to make the necessary repairs before listing as a rental.

The best areas to consider include East Point, West End, Kirkwood, Decatur (outside city limits), and Marietta, each offering a balance of affordability, appreciation, and rental demand.

@John Zhang If your wife qualifies for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) and materially participates in managing rental properties, there is no limit on the amount of rental losses, including depreciation, that can offset your W-2 income.

However, your mother-in-law is a related party to your wife.Given this, it's important to understand how the title is held on your rental condo?

But if you know what you're doing in finding the properties and want a fixer upper, it's doable.I will say that the multi-family rental market is pretty saturated here though.