Since I plan on living in it with my wife and small child, I'm trying to balance finding a great deal, being somewhat close to work, and living in a good neighborhood.

I have dreamed about entering into RE every since Monopoly was introduced to me as a child.

CA is the poster child for this..

and only after you covered properly the "other" aspects of risk management (insurance, umbrella insurance, proper property management, etc.).Unless you are doing flipping (or AirBnb), in which case I suggest you look into Series-LLC and you operate each flip in its own child-series (if not clear why, ask for more details).Anyway, a lot of this is covered in my notes, and that should save you hours of research and hopefully clear some confusion as to why you want it and when and how.

The hard part is im married and my wife is not in on the house hack thing as we have a child on the way.

I think you should work in the franchise like your father wants.Learn the business, what if you worked as many hours as you can, work 80 hours a week or even work 100 hours a week (child labor laws might limit this ????)

I was familiar with the area in the sense that I had visited as a child, and have been visiting the Smokies (albeit mainly the NC side) for most of my life.  

The issue with RUBS is that it is fluid and it hinges on the # of occupants and this poses issues: 1) A child uses less than an adult; 2) a worker from home uses more than one that drives to work; 3) A couple may have a child during tenancy which they fail to divulge; 4) friends and family may visit for a few days during holidays.... etc. etc. etc.  --- and... these issues become issues for the other Tenant and then turns you into the constant 'utility police' because you constantly have to monitor # of occupants... eww. 50/50 is simple and simply understood and 100% while vacant is also simply understood.

Simply google "divorce statistics" and "divorce child custody men" to maybe understand where some men might be coming from.

Now that was the 60s you would get arrested for child abuse these days letting 10 year olds walk the streets..