I'll send you a private message to discuss the area further and how, if possible, I can bring any value to you or work together on something.

I assume you know at this point but in general, the goal is the screen for a very good tenant and keep them there as long as possible.

@Veronique Leroy I would say it is possible if you force equity, hold for a few years and then sell and then average the return of the whole profit over the timeframe of deal.

Quote from @Blair Ross Jr: Is it possible to purchase SFR or duplex rental with less then 15% out of pocket?

My plan for this year is improve my credit, get my real estate license (to increase my income on top of my W-2), possibly career transition into the property management space (to learn more), and save as much as possible and learn as much as I can.I’d love to house hack close to home but my area is so expensive it seems like it’d be close to impossible. 

We would like to refinance as soon as possible after the build to recover all or most of our initial investment.

A quick call to your zoning attorney or architect should confirm that adding that garden unit is possible without needing any changes, exceptions, etc. under the current zoning.

My piece of advice would be to try to take advantage of as much free education as possible with podcasts, forums like these, YouTube, and other real estate investors.

I am going to put this as bluntly as possible:  Condominiums in the Smokies are not good investments.

Quote from @Sabian Ripplinger: i want to possibly use hard money this year to grow quicker   and can you use them for new builds  who should i use and  any tips?