I am looking to get my first property and ideally would like it to be multi-family for purposes of house hacking as my tunnel into real estate investing. 

I know ideally doing my first deal close to where I live would be best but I'm just not finding anything in Arizona right now that looks like a good enough deal.Thanks for any guidance!

I know you mentioned finding recommendations for realtors and I would say search some local right here on BP and take them out for coffee to see if they are a right fit.

It would be ideal to have a multifamily but another house hacking strategy that lends itself to the Baltimore area is buying one of the SFH's in the area you are permitted and renting out rooms. 

I am also pretty familiar with the S-Corp and work with other investors who are using them.Ultimately, I would say it's important to just meet with an attorney and a CPA so you can measure out the cost/benefit of each structure and pick the one that fits your portfolio and goals.

I don’t think the mortgage companies will have fit if we move out a month early.

I realize that most of the time buying in cash is ideal, but is there anything wrong with getting a 30 year mortgage and doing the BRRRR strategy?

What made you think they would be open to this idea and what they'd be a fit as buyers?

I found that the extra work that is required plus the additional vacancy plus headaches that came with tenants arguing between themselves made it a less than ideal way of investing.

Phoenix is extremely competitive, but that's because it's a hot market with a lot of deals.I would figure out which area fits your budget/lifestyle the best and go from there.I moved to Phoenix a little over a year ago from the Bay Area and I'll never look back personally.