That 40k class would not teach you to put nail to the drywall.In my actual job i am so very busy writing code for DATA CENTER like Amazon or Google data center, so I do NOT have time nor knowledge to put a nail in the drywall, but i have TRUSTED friend that can put the nail in the drywall.There are just so many RESOURCES here in BIGGERPOCKETS where one do not need to go to any school but can learn from them or they can redirect to the right people.As for me , my life in real estate context has DRAMATICALLY IMPROVED when I CONVERTED my business relationship into much PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP to the contractor.In flipping business, the contractor, the subcon , is like the Prophet, okay, they have to be listened and being served.

Most areas have long term rentals that can in fact be converted to short term rentals. 

The first was a development project converting a motel into an apartment in Tucson.

The first was a development project converting a motel into an apartment in Tucson.

@Dawn Johnson I am also a Virginia landlord, not a lawyer, no legal advice, but my understanding is unless your lease clearly states your lease renews annually or you have tenant sign an addendum showing new term ends x date, then she likely believed it converted to monthly.

You could rent out your current unit and buy another house hack, or even convert the whole property into a traditional rental.

I have a rental property that used to be our primary residence. We used a HELOC on that property for a down payment and some renovations ($285k) on our now current primary residence.Our rental property has a 2.99% rat...

Might be tough from area to area, but I typically find that homes built before 1950 that were converted from single to multi family are 9 times out of ten - a full gut rehab and way too expensive for first timers.

If I buy a property for short term rental and do a cost segregation study to speed up depreciation, can I later decide to convert to a primary residence?

You could look into converting pre-tax money into a Roth IRA, purchase real estate and then all income and profits from sale, are tax-free in Roth IRA.