But if you do have that set of keys, you could save yourself a locksmith's fees in case if any emergency came up.  

My other choices are to buy a turnkey out of state (which I find very interesting but scary at the same time since I don't know many people out of state) or to just keep saving until me and my serious girlfriend are ready to settle down into a house hack.What I would love to do is buy a one a family out of state for around 100K so that I can get started in real estate and also not have to put a huge down payment so that I still have the capital to do a house hack in the future.

I’m looking to real estate to secure my retirement and augment my income with hopes that I can build a business to pass on to my children someday.I’m very interested in growing my network around the Denver and Front Range area and would love start getting involved in some of the meet-ups in the area.

We do not have a lot of money saved up but may be able to put up to $20k towards an investment to get off the ground.

I retire from the military in 7 and half years from now and would like to have some income coming in.

Those both sound like great income properties and knowing the construction side will save you thousands over your lifetime!

I've saved enough for either my first house, or my first real estate investment -- and am coming to understand that it may need to be one in the same.

Motivation comes in many forms: retirement, health, divorce, burned out, bad partnership to name a few.  

I know I can get 3 people @ 300-350 a month not including electric (I've already inquired a few good friends of mine and they've all agreed to move off campus to save some money) With that being said, I'm thinking this will cashflow about $180 per month, which sounds great to me.

I am a retired scientist with absolutely no practical experience in real estate.