This can be a big roadblock if you need funds sooner to secure deals.2.

First decide which type of house hacking you want to do.

When it's sold it will be taxed as capital gains tax and may also have some unrecaptured depreciation which is capped at 25% and  recaptured depreciation as well which can be up to your ordinary income tax rate.

It's been a tough sector to be in.  

Cash flow will be a function of how much you put down. 

You want to buy real estate with no savings, which even if you can scrape together a 10-20% down payment, means you will have no cushion to fall back on when the inevitable surprise expense happens. 

However, why are there barely any private inspectors who can be hired to inspect construction/remodeling projects being done on properties? 

I have to assess the building codes and modify it anyway, which can be more time consuming than working from scratch.

Quote from @Chris Seveney: Sounds a lot of what they did in Washington DC, which now tenants know these laws and you have to pay them off in order to sell the property because they can lock up a sale for a period of time to delay it being sold. 

Often times the longer we can hold off on gratification the easier things will be later.