While I’m no fan of realtors, and think they are often overpaid and under qualified, the idea about not being tied down is one of the dumbest compliant’s, in literally every other line of work, you get tied down, go hire a lawyer, you pay them by the hours, go hire a doctor you pay them by the hour, and you are not being tied technically, you could agree to pay two agents out of pocket, but of course no one does this for the same reason no one pays two lawyers.  

For example, someone told me I can get cabinets replaced by going to Lowes and they will install them cheaper?

Seller contributions are capped by lenders.

This home has been described by building department officials as the largest residential home on the Big Island, featuring an impressive 100-foot pool.I purchased the property in 2021 when it was in a severely dilapidated state.

There are a lot of condos already on the Fannie Mae approved list for example and that only requires 5% down.Stay away from anything that is a Co-Op those are a nightmare in most cases and a lot of the Co-ops have by laws that require 25% down for example even if you qualify for 3-5% down.

In the ten-year period beginning with Q2 2014, the Downtown submarket has experienced the greatest introduction of new inventory, 19,373 units, amounting to 21.7% of all new market rate rentals added to the market.Asking and Effective RentAfter finishing April with no change, asking rents climbed by 0.3% to $2,381.

I have toured many and they tend to be janky and your few hundred in cashflow will get eaten by cap/ex. 

I'm keen to diversify my portfolio by venturing into real estate.

I am new to real estate investing and thinking of starting off by doing a "house hack" via renting out the unused basement as a short term rental (AirBNB, Vrbo etc) in my single family home which is used as primary residence.

By doing so and if structured correctly you may find your tenant covering most of your mortgage and monthly expenses.