Moves risk to be financially covered by insurance hypothetically.

If you can get financial support to get a duplex/triplex, I would recommend this.

It was bought in 2004 and due to financial issues, I believe ~$197k is still owed on the mortgage.

@Serge Hounkponou Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.

Lots of normal, blue collar folks are getting financial freedom from STR and yet the committee is tone deaf to their stories.

@Ketch BaysStarting small in a cash-flowing market is a smart way to gain experience and build confidence without overextending yourself financially.

Life is financially good even without doingSelf Storage.

Staying local and house hacking—especially now, before kids—gives you so much flexibility to set yourselves up for long-term success.Your financial foundation is super strong, and house hacking a quad sounds like an amazing first step for you two.

You could, for the purposes of verifying that you are not renting to someone who is potentially dangerous or financially incapable of shouldering the burden of being a roommate, ask them to apply through Zillow so that you can see their background check, that also gives you the opportunity to have others who might be interested in being your roommate as well, apply.