I marketed this property as a business - as it brought in 155K in gross revenues , could go to 180K with some extra work.I see many people who got into the airbnb game 3 years ago trying to unload now, almost at cost.

Firstly, it has a relatively low cost of living and affordable real estate prices, allowing investors to purchase properties at a lower initial cost compared to many other cities.

People told me I could hire someone to help setup QB for my rentals but this would have cost a couple grand.

While researching and evaluating homes, I had an idea for managing the down payment and emergencies for the first property.When I find a property with good cash flow, I could use a private money lender (PML) to cover the down payment and closing costs.

Buying for 625K, cost for fix up with 1 ADU about 400K..

An ADU addition in a SFH zoned area in my market adds significantly less value than the hands of cost of adding the ADU.  

I pulled this off but with an FHA 203k loan which allows you to wrap the cost of renovations into the loan. 

Whatever you use, make sure it's state-specific.6) Putting a cap on utilities is smart, especially when you're starting out and have no idea what they're going to cost you.

So I calculated an example. 20% of 352K is $70400 but there's also closing costs.

A house hacker with a  W-2 income can often times float some rehab costs on a duplex through cashflow or supplement some with their income.