So you will need to have skin in the game.

I'm pretty new to the game and would love to get some advice from more experienced investors here!

@Stuart Bartle welcome to the RE investing game.  

I'm considering investing in STR in Hawaii to diversify my investment portfolio (mainly for capital appreciation) as well as it being a regular vacation place for my family.

But in terms of being able to grow a portfolio with a ton of equity and solid cash flow, being a builder in this area really works.I think the STR part of it also helps as well.

There is running private credit and running MF and then their is portfolio mgmt.

You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.4.

Create a portfolio of income producing properties and you can use that income to pay for your primary home.

Personally due to the rate environment, I am sitting at 65% LTV on my properties, but I also stopped buying and started private lending (in the US at least, I just bought a house in Portugal).You're in a really good position here, it'll just take some math, homework with banks, and diligence in renter underwriting to end up with a fantastic income property and portfolio. 

The Pacific Northwest is competitive, so leveraging those connections can be a game-changer.Second, when analyzing deals, ensure you’re building a framework to assess not just the property’s performance today but its future potential.