There is also the idea to rent out a room as an office to another person as well.Trying to find info on this question online has been tough, so I thought I'd ask all of you!

I am also wondering if anyone can recommend any good research tools for investing in out of state properties, which I personally have had a tough time finding myself (side note: I'm a software engineer by trade so if something good does not exist, ill be happy to build something out for the community) 

It's very tough to be an expert when you're so far away because real estate is a very localized business. 

I offered up my office etc to a few folks who chased these down. its a ton of work we got a few.. but it is VERY tough as in VERY.

Which was tough since we moved our family into the four which had less room. 

@Zachary Olley MFR in most areas by me are tough to find comps on, not enough sell.  

Fair warning for Denver metro area... 1% is tough to find.  

I know you said the weekdays are tough for you, but if you ever get the chance, we host a meetup in Northridge, every 3rd Thursday of the month.

I tend to buy in the Southern half of the US for 2 reasons:1) you get much higher year-round occupancy rates in the South & it’s simply tough to earn a good ROI in the North if your place sits vacant for a big chunk of the year2) Culturally, the Southern half of the US seems to be a lot more accepting of STRs regulation-wise.

It seems to be a tough market right now; requiring creativity, ingenuity and a dedicated work ethic.