What are you looking to achieve?

I live in Seattle and could use some input and advice on achieving my goal of living independent with little to no housing costs.I am hoping to achieve this by taking advantage of newly enacted DADU laws in Seattle.

What is his angle; is he really in the business to help others achieve financial freedom through real estate investing?

Definitely achievable with a 2-year time horizon.

I'm involved in the day to day activities so I think 250 hours a year is pretty achievable in my case since I manage both the STRs.

Is that true or is their another way to achieve the same goal?

I have no interest in owning a unit for a couple/few hundred dollars of cash flow per unit (and this likely exceeds what most OOS investors will achieve) that will never become greater. 

Now I was ready to make the first critical move to see what I had learned and put in an offer on a multifamily home to achieve cashflow.

I used the Intention Journal last quarter and achieved some great results with achieving 3 goals in 90 days.

With a budget of about $400k I think your goal of 45 mins from Boston is achievable especially in cities like Lowell which is where we do a lot of business.