If house hacking isn't the best option for me, how would you recommend starting out to build up some investments.

the midwest has lower price points than other areas of the US, sure, but it also comes with its own challenges - for example, very old housing stock, lots of deferred maintenance, and tremendous demand for the best properties."

House clean completed 2/19/25 and will sell ASAP for $95k.

If the house is older than 15 years old and an ADU is added, it can become rent controlled.

This will be my first pure investment purchase, my experience up to now has involved house hacking.

For most people a house hack is a great start. 

House hacking is great.

The key now is to take action—set a clear goal, choose a strategy (house hacking, rentals, flips, etc.), and start analyzing deals.

The Housing Wire article chart shows how FHA and VA loan delinquencies are approaching really high historical levels, close to that of the housing crash.We are still at historic lows for conventional loans.

They are really changing the shape of the city and it may become incredibly expensive to buy out there soon due to lack of housing.