I had a similar strategy with my first few house hacks: buy in great A & B Chicago neighborhoods....get by with minimum cash flow, and wait...What's your plan for the next purchase Michael?

I plan to speak to my broker and it's probably a question for their lawyers, just wanting to check all my options before I choose a route

One cannot plan for the unknown, but this is why people need to have significant savings or lines of credit to handle the what happens in life.   

In two years I plan to pull equity from my home, rent it out, and purchase another to live in for two years..

While I don’t plan on flipping the house, I intend to use the property for short-term rentals (STR), and based on my research, it seems like it will perform well either as an STR or a long-term rental (LTR).Any ideas on how I can source the financing or recommendations for better lenders would be greatly appreciated!

The challenge is the that you need to have a plan for the property that will allow you to improve rent collection, lower expenses or build the equity.

(I did not hear the noise or  care but those much closer to the house did) so be careful with these kinds of plans  in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  

@Drake BackmanBigger Pockets is a great place to find a tax strategist specializing in real estate taxation.A good real estate tax strategist can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding a tax  strategist specializing in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.Consider working with your tax strategist remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a tax strategist willing to work with you throughout the year.

Happy to chat and get a game plan in place for you or answer any other questions you might have.

Do you plan to scale this year and if so what type of properties will you be targeting?