I am not looking for a door lock, which I know exist, I am looking for a "traditional" lock box.I'm ok with it being WiFi and contracting internet service just for it.Does anyone knows if this even exists?

If you don't want a traditional refinance then you'll need to contact banks to see how long they require you to be on title.You have to own the property or have some interest in the property in order to get cash out of the home.

I do currently have some traditional financing in the works at a much better rate, but, and correct me if I'm wrong, that may dry up at some point and I think it's a good idea to start building relationships with folks like this.  

My goal has been to purchase one more property before we leave which I would have to do with traditional financing.

I wouldn't make it look like a traditional tudor.

Starting out with a live in (house hack) 2-3 family purchase as your first home makes a lot of sense to me and here is why:- You only get that 3.5%-5% loan down once and it will be the lowest amount you will likely come out of pocket for a down payment in your investing career buying something with a traditional 30-year loan.

If it the latter, Id suggest working at real estate investment firm, you'll learn so much about your market and how to identify good deals from working next to an investor than you would by parking license at a traditional brokerage.

It sounds like you have more than 20% equity in the house now, so in My opinion of your best option, and the way I did it in my PCS's is to refi to a traditional mortgage, taking out what you need to buy a duplex/triplex/ quadplex (or whatever suitable REI type property you prefer to invest in).

@Samir Shahani - Started with traditional loans and have used the same portfolio lender from the beginning.  

Today, getting a mortgage is a pain in the ***, and although there are non-traditional lenders who have filled the sub-prime space (thank you fellow members), another real estate crash seems very unlikely as foreclosures will probably never again be as dramatic than 2008.