My caution to you is it is really time consuming and a fair amount of work.

I originally posted on reddit saying I had 20k cash to my name but very very low expenses and a high risk tolerance.

After reading Kiyosaki and a ton of others I feel a hybrid and a mix would be most beneficial on a monthly basis for what I'm looking for.

I knew it was something I've been thinking about and as I started looking into it more and more it seemed like a good move for my REI plans.

I agree with paying the tax and moving on only because now a days you can earn 10-12% in a mortgage note fund and have no fees, capital calls, no management headaches (syndication) and a clear exit timeline. 

This equals a large pool of Soldiers coming in and a growing number of retirees staying in the area.

Or is it necessary to walk through with a structural and MEP engineer and a contractor before putting numbers together?

Take a pause and a breath. 

My dad has 3 LT rental properties (one which has a huge unfinished basement and a huge old greenhouse attached that i can build 3-6units or so). he has a beginners lvl knowledge i would say of RE. but he likes new construction bc theyre brand new and will have less headache. and yes i understand it was a bunch of RE jargon haha apologies. as you can definitely tell i am just unsure of what my next step should be and im a little scared if im being honest. i dont want to make a bad decision. no i dont own my own home, i live with my famly currently. which part sounds better than real life?

Whereas most adjoining cities as you mentioned have gotten almost as bad as Seattle, minus 1st in, unlimited occupants, and a few other things.