My third with that same lender was 3 months.My Airbnb, we were able to pull out all of our costs within 5 months of buying, because we a) had done 3-4 deals with this lender in the past and b) the appraisal came back 50% higher than our requested loan amount.With both, we were using local banks and on their commercial side, so they have more flexibility. 

If it was me, I would go find the cheapest money with the best flexibility and best overall terms.Also, "know the numbers" like the back of your hand.

HELOC's can be good, but there is less flexibility and your payments will be higher.

If you are willing to be flexible and hop around it can be very profitable.

It allows me the piece of mind to know that I have the flexibility to try new things, possibly fail and try new other things and not have to worry about paying on a mortgage or other debts.Of course if you could find a property that requires some rehab and you can build some equity go for it.

Since you are military, the requirements are: lived in it 2 of the last 10 years. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/...If so, selling it and investing the money in a commerical property may be more flexible for you and avoid the timeline associated with a 1031 tax exchange while still getting the tax benefits. 

House hacking is an awesome strategy when you have the flexibility in your lifestyle like you do right now.

My personal choice is a FireTV or stick due to the flexibility of adding virtually anything. 

If you want them to stay, I'd be flexible- I certainly don't want to be the person responsible for someone living on the streets simply because I wanted another $300 per month.

Certainly on the expense side there's more flexibility, you can choose to fix a major item in Jan instead of Dec to expense it in the next tax year.