So if you say got a 2-family in one of these towns, you could live in one side and then short- or mid-term rent the other side and max your income out there to pay down your mortgage.

My goal is long term.

The west coast markets have traditionally been appreciation markets, and if you are not forced to sell and can hold long term, risk diminishes.

To the original questions.  

The offer I received is a 9% interest rate on a 5-year term, resulting in a monthly payment of $726.

Obviously I don't have much to offer currently in terms of local knowledge but I love connecting and sharing info and plan to be a valuable and helpful part of the investor community there. 

I am looking to build a SFR for short-term rental, would be my first-time new build.I have engineer plans for well and wastewater stamped by the state of VT for up to 4 bedrooms.

The faster track on rentals  (cash-flow wise) is to do short term rentals like AirBnB, etc….

It would be in line with the typical theory that sfh are going to generally get a more long term, serious, “pride of ownership” type resident..but it’s not always the case…good screening is a better strategy than avoiding mf..in my opinion

These often have no PMI, reduced origination fees, lower than average 30 year fixed rate, and occasionally some closing cost credits.