I am looking for advice from people who have done this in the past.

The best way to start is by surrounding yourself with people who are already doing what you’re trying to do.

Most people assume that house hacking means living in a 2 bedroom 1 bath duplex.

Quote from @Vince Scipione: Yes, they are a popular choice where I live and work, however with the ever fluctuating cost of oil heat, many people have swapped over their boilers/furnaces to what is called a "Propane Gun" essentially it is a device that is affixed to the front of the furnace/boiler that injects the propane and ignites it.

Quote from @Chris Seveney: @Charlene Kingsnorth have you had an sec attorney also review what you are doing as if you're are having multiple people as part of a loan participating in it depending on the state this could get you in hot water - so be careful  good point Chris some state allow fractionalized deed of Trust mortgages other do not or require PPM like documents prior to offering them..

Then I work with a local insurance broker give them a valuation of the property, explain that the property is being rented and by how many people.

If enough people reach out, eventually it would be great to start a meetup group for STR investors in the area.

miami dade county has more people moving to it than many cities and very limited land.https://comreal.com/two-reports-highlight-miami-as-a-top-gro...miami has been appreciating and at double Floridas rate. you can't put the two in the same category it's not even close. same with Broward or west palm beach you can't lump them in. 3 totally different markets. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2024/12/13/florida-housing-mark...my home city in columbus also has similar stats but I doubt that miami is a buyer's market my friend I'm sorry.

Also Mid-Term Rentals to traveling professionals, people displaced for insurance reasons, or doing a renovation to their home and needing a place to live for  3 months or more are also possibilities.

Starting to get competitive though for investment properties because of that reason you have more and more people entering the market from out of state.