I'm really hoping to make some connections and work with and learn from more experienced investors in the community.

I'd say just start your search with all 2-4 unit properties, and when you find one where the numbers make sense and it checks your other boxes (somewhere you actually want to live and house hack), then it probably makes sense. 

Make money and someone else deals with the problems. 

You have to do the research on the property itself to make sure it makes sense and is a good investment strategy first.

Hit a few bumps throughout the process but overall went good and onto the next one! 

But you don’t need a new lease to make a security deposit amendment, that’s just a one page amendment.

Make sure to research lenders, get pre-approved, and calculate your potential ROI before bidding. 

A common pitfall is treating each deal as a standalone transaction instead of connecting acquisitions, financing, and project management as part of one cohesive process.

This allows you to report the rental income and expenses directly on Schedule E of your joint tax return, simplifying your tax filing process.

I've been reasonably happy with this so far, since it's made the process fairly passive.