Both options have pros and cons, and the right choice depends on your lifestyle, experience, and long-term goals.

Wondering if anyone has experience there?

Figure out a question set that helps dive into their expertise as investor-friendly agents, ask about their experience in the investment real estate space, and have them send you a few properties that could meet your goals to show that they can provide quality properties for your to analyze (hint: this is also good to see if they overpromised on their market [ex - Raleigh for cash flow]).Also with the new lawsuit, any agent that knows what they're doing will require you to sign an agency agreement prior to viewing a home.

Quote from @Mary Holland: I'd love to hear about your experiences and how they compare to other types of commercial real estate financing.

This experience taught me to trust my instincts more and never skip due diligence, even in areas I am less familiar with like basements and water intrusion.Any advice on how I should proceed would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Karla from Montreal, Canada-You ask an interesting question.Should your first real estate investment be new construction, since you and your partner have construction management experience, or flipping an existing home as you originally thought you would?

What’s required for success in this is deep knowledge of real estate in general and the area in particular; experience in real estate and the local laws, etc.; and capital to pay for options, marketing, legal counsel, accounting, tax advise, etc.  

Now you are saying you have no experience owning/operating an STR, that's another hit.  

A well-priced cleaning fee ensures quality turnovers and a good guest experience.

I work with a lot of househackers and they're typically on the 12 month cycle, rinse and repeat.While the proposition of acquiring an investment property outside of your market in a "landlord friendly" state may sound appealing, i would recommend you stay local for now and househack another couple of properties over the next few years until you've got some more time / experience under your belt.you would need a management company to cover your property that is outside of your market which would not only take 8-10% of your gross it would also leave you a bit vulnerable to a property management company that you A.)know nothing about and B.)you won't have the experience or cashflow or proximity to deal with any headaches that may arise.i would recommend staying local and househacking your way along for now and then maybe hire a local property management company initially to work with your current/local properties to get a taste of what to expect if and when you begin investing outside of your market.