So that being said, you would need to put in a lot of work into the home.

Every single day, I would log onto Trulia and browse through the homes, picking out my favorites.

Scott Trench's new article   Millions of Americans Should Keep Their Homes as Rentals, Not Sell.

These homes are cash only deals though.

Multi-family investment and home hacking are both effective tactics.

I am a 30 year old post grad with 20k saved up looking to either house hack in the 300k range or possibly use the 20k as down payment into a single family home for rental.

With many people working from home, it isn't uncommon to require tenants to be available for repairmen or appliance deliveries.

If the double needs updating and you are handy, you can force appreciate the unit you are living in while paying no or almost no money for the home as your renter covers most of your expenses.By the time you are done renovating + 3-5 years give or take you have a forced appreciated property. 

Find Brandon's videos on YouTube for the "four square" method of analyzing homes and practice.

A book that is 5 years old may not reflect the current mortgage rate or inflated home price market.