One of my early properties barely broke even, but after a couple of years, rent hikes and expense optimization turned it into a strong performer.For cash flow benchmarks, I usually aim for $200-$300 per unit, but your situation.. house hacking.. offers unique benefits like reduced living expenses and quicker equity buildup.

@Kyle Cross you claim to know a lot about the industry, but your questions are vague and so is the info you've provided.Not sure how managing 8 units doesn't, "require much management"?

Hi Lina from Texas-Congratulations on your interest in investing in mid-term rentals and you are wondering how and where to get started.I get this question frequently from investors.Sometimes and investor is looking to keep their property cashflow positive as insurance and taxes have squeezed cashflow by turning units into mid-term or short-term rentals.First off, ideally, the property will cashflow as a long-term rental should something disrupt the mid-term rental model.You will also want to have the property be near where there would be a demand for mid-term rentals (hospitals, universities, research centers).Monthly rents for mid-term rentals are about 20% (+/-) higher than unfurnished similar long-term rentals.There are property managers that will manage mid-term rentals for you and I always advise my clients to use property managers to keep their investment as passive as possible and for compliance issues related to Fair Housing Laws and local regulations.To Your Success!

That insurance lesson is gold, props to you for keeping perspective and having a solid team to help you navigate through it.

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

Ask how many units they manage and how much experience they have.

If i have only a single unit security deposit in the account, it will likely get a service charge.  

I have tons of my units leased by people who do airbnb.  

A kitchen fire in the back unit got a little out of control and burned up to the roof.

It is a side by side duplex, both two bed two bath units.