We live in California at the moment and I have W2 job and my wife a small online business.

If it's not feasible due to circumstances I suppose I'll have to adjust my situation (find weekend job, move back to NJ with parents, move to a different state with, etc.)All responses are appreciated, and I am absolutely open to chatting on the phone by the way.My view on house hacking is it can be a great tool to buy a house you could not  otherwise afford, but it shouldn’t be a goal in it of itself if that makes sense and that’s not to discourage you from investing just there are alternatives such as the stock market. so I’d start by asking where you want to live, do you want to own a single family home or does it make more sense to rent in a more interesting neighborhood like Arlington, Alexandria, that’s gonna be a personal choice, Will your monthly payment actually be less than renting/how many people do you need to get in the house to afford that?

Credit, jobs, income, age, married, plans for future all this matters.

The value of the hotel is based off of how well it's being operated.My advice would be to get a job in the hotel industry.

It’s super important you prioritize the end product: something that gets the job done well as an STR.  

I admire your experience !

You did an excellent job summarizing your experience.

Other risks, the contractor walking off the job, a storm hitting and delaying the project for weeks, someone breaking into the home and stealing stuff (which happened just the other day to a client of mine), a squatter, or drunk driver driving into the house (happened a lot at my old job as a firefighter lol).

They are out of control.Yes many times Rad has had job ads up for an “executive protection agent”.

California offers great job markets and weather, but comes with high costs.