But that's not very frequent.

I want to be somewhat hands on so I would pick markets that are driveable for you and visit frequently. 

A house hack for a primary residence for about two years and then you could repeat this again. 

Unfortunately, the great jumbo products of First Republic no longer exist but maybe in the future another lender will repeat that one.....

I read this last night from “The Book on Rental Property Investing” by Brandon Turner: Break even on cash flow or lose money on cash flow, and you are on a path to financial ruin.I’ll repeat myself one last time: Buy rental properties that offer cash flow today.I’m interested to know whether experienced investors Agree/disagree and why? 

Cash for keys is common, and frequently the part that keeps tenants from moving forward is not having an affordable place to go to.

He frequently works with STR investors in the Smokies  River - thanks for the referral.

-repeat the process every year by acquiring one house every year with the appropriate income qualification

Easily repeatable.  

The first thing I'd recommend is focus on a market where you either 1) currently or have previously lived, 2) have family/friends that live there, or 3) travel to/vacation there frequently.