You definitely can't just buy a building low down, do no work to it and keep old rents and expect to profit. 

You might hire a property manager, use a co-hosting service, or build your own team (like I did!).

House hacking can certainly be a great way to build equity and reduce living expenses, but it’s essential to have a cushion in case your rental income doesn’t come in as expected or renovations take longer than planned.

By year three, I aim to cover all operating costs and, by year four, to generate positive cash flow.Experienced investors say it’s crucial to persevere through the initial challenges while gradually building credibility through positive reviews, and I believe them.

I have a follow up question from yesterday's as I continue to build my team in Akron/Canton, OH for STR's.

Yes I understand that possibility, that's why I try to build relationships with the builders that I work with so they know that I'm trying to get them a good deal and I know that I can trust them with any potential contracts.

The FEMA 50% rule does come into play, but we do a lot of ground-up construction, so some investors that do have some new build/heavy rehab experience are tearing down and building back to current codes.

@Collin Hays I completely agree with your theme of building a local banking relationship, which should help someone build their real estate portfolio, but I have a couple of questions.When I read "conforming" and "non-conforming" loans, I think of the loans being underwritten as consumer mortgages.

If this is your first property, you could consider starting with a smaller apartment building and going after the opportunity first, and the property as a secondary consideration.

I refinanced a different building and bought another building with the proceeds.