I disagree.  

On Newburgh we disagree.

The part where I disagree with you is your accusation of being unethical or stealing equity from the seller, I have worn many hats over the year and I can tell you that as an investor, landlord, flipper, developer, wholesaler, or whatever title you put on your business card you should ALWAYS be looking to get a DEAL otherwise you're not investing, you're just parking money by paying retail and you would probably be better of staying out of this industry. 

I am sure someone will chime in if they disagree, they always do : ) 

I'm considering consulting a real estate attorney because I disagree.

I learned some important rules when cold calling apartment owners:1) always agree (we already know this)2) always leave prospect in a good mood 3) keep them out of no, in maybe, and moving towards yes4) if they say no to your offer offer them something elseThe number one rule in sales is to always agree.The worst thing you can do in sales is disagree with the prospect because when you disagree with someone it ruins rapport and the road to the close  holts.The whole purpose of sales is to get to the close.Always keep the conversation a positive vibe.

I believe REI Rentals are the easiest ways to start out, but also the slowestI think I'd eventually like to find rehabs - however as my first REI, I think flipping a rehab may be too much coordination and too much of a time crunch(Let me know if you disagree)Anyway, obviously I am a newbie, so I could have misinterpreted things and be setting myself up for trouble.

Do you disagree and think I am being way to conservative?

I have to disagree.

I disagree with the posters here on this thread to a degree.Yes its fine to look at a live in flip, or a house hack by running the numbers to see how the investment would work, ie run the flip, or the BRRR thru the calculators.But remember, and you touched on it, not only do you get the forced appreciation of the repairs/flip, but you also get cost avoidance from not needing anther place to live., and if you keep it long enough tax savings from the 2 year exemption on capital gains.I think house hacking you end up picking different neighborhoods etc than you would as purely a flipper or a landlord.One question, do you really want to live in the house while you are doing a flip?