You can get into a home for little or even nothing down, perhaps add some value by renovation, then hop to a new primary residence in a year with little or nothing down, and repeat.

I think I've bought 10 houses (primaries and investments), and I've had that same "Oh crap, my chest hurts, why did I think this was a good idea?"

Starting with a $100K headstart is more than a enough to buy a new primary home. 

@Landon Sheveland People do fix and flips while living into the property to classify the property as primary residence and not pay any capital gain taxes. if that is your intention, don't use LLC to establish this as your LLC.If your goal is different compared to what I said above, you can use LLC.

I’d like to buy the place, renovate it, and then live in it for a few years as my primary while renting out the 2/1, and then ultimately selling or renting out the main house too. wondering what the best purchase strategy would be considering I don’t have the full purchase price in cash on hand?

It would be a primary residence.

It was a great experience that helped fuel my passion for real estate investing.Recently, I took my real estate journey a step further by earning my broker license!

Quote from @Erwin McClain: I had rental properties out of state but I have been renting rooms in my primary residence for over 10 years since my 2 boys have moved out.

I’ve bought my primary with various Schedule C income and refinanced a primary with lots of schedule c and a number of properties (mostly owned in LLCs but reported on my personal return).

Did your primary become rent controlled and if not what exempted it from rent control?