They're affordable enough to allow good cash flow, while also attracting decent tenant quality.

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?

yes in 2020 I had to find an alternative due to Covid.

In terms of maximizing your returns you want to compare the interest to an alternative.

@Kyle Carter just because a building has all section 8 tenants doesn’t necessarily mean that the cap rate will be higher on exit but it might attract a buyer(s) that are focused cashflow and not appreciation; therefore a lower price to juice the yield.One of my non negotiables if I were you would be to only buy in an area that is desirable.  

If you go into A/B Class the rents are going to be too high to justify doing section 8, meaning market rents are higher than Section 8 is able to pay.If you go down to D Class areas you're going to attract terrible tenants and it will be a nightmare. 

What I learned what is most important is to know your market and the types of tenants these units will attract.

In the alternative, everything seemingly goes well, he has lied on his application (very dumb move) which you don't control and down the road a year or two you get a "knock, knock" on the door from some very stern men who want to talk to you about the transaction.

. $40k will not get you a non owner occupied San Diego property unless you find some unlikely alternate financing.

Also look at the area as well in terms of how attractive it will be for people to rent out your units.