This is because those who househacked actually pulled the trigger and started to gain experience while those looking for strictly an investment were too focused on numbers and returns to get their hand and feet wet.You can put little money down and take advantage of favorable rates. its a no brainer IMO 

(Not being a vet I’m not sure of the interest rate difference but know that the 3.5% down FHA is often worse than a conventional 5% down.).

When we looked at purchasing a fulling running B&B it was more like 30% with a bunch of criteria we had to meet.Check out this link - https://www.sba.gov/funding-pr...The 504 is for large investments that drive job creation.

I think there were very very very few people who thought interest rates would go from 3 to 8% in about a year. 

I also have no interest in being in the car wash business, or the laundry business, or the AirBnB business, things like that which seem to appeal to a good number of people, but not me.I like to KISS, and just focus on market rate rentals, 12 to 18 month leases.

I agree that the upside here is knowing most of the mechanicals need to be redone upfront, so there should be fewer ‘surprises’ along the way.Setting aside a solid contingency fund is a must—do you have a rule of thumb for that?

Underestimate the costs and come up short needing the funds?

Texas does have specific rules regarding home equity loans and cash-out refinancing (often referred to as "Texas Equity Section 50(a)(6)"), but these don’t prohibit homeowners from using funds for investment properties.

This home has been highly operational with high rates of occupancy, bringing in anywhere from $500-$1500 a month in overage beyond our monthly expenses.

Congratulations, you get to share your partners tax burden and pay the depreciation recapture at ordinary income rates.