Also of note, cracks that go straight THROUGH brick are often done by a one-time stress event like earthquakes rather than the much slower process of foundation settling.- What kind of windows do you have?

Find a rental property with tenants saves you a lot of time and stress

It shouldn't be so stressful if i had a trustworthy project manager.

Going forward, (on a case-by-case basis) I will ensure there is a contingency for the property to be unoccupied prior to us taking ownership that way the responsibility falls upon the seller and is less stressful on us. 

With renting, you have little responsibility and no work to maintain the property, so maybe that gives you the freedom to invest in more rentals rather than the possible stress and time constraints of living with roommates and having to manage a property.Another benefit to house hacking is the much lower interest rate you might get financing a primary residence.

I have done a number of properties in the UK as a kind of stressful hobby whilst doing my day job.

It doesn't take long for me to demonstrate the difference and, in most cases, the owner ends up putting as much or more money in their pocket, the property is better protected, and they no longer have to deal with the stress.

My CAPEX and maintenance budgets for a partial year 1 and full year 2 were decimated, leading to a lot of unnecessary stress and painful situations.Set aside that money now, and either be glad you did or thankful that it potentially won't be needed.I'm sure John can help you with those estimates, but this is one semi-newbie investor to another with probably the only advice I'd go back and give myself buying my first true rental that I didn't already think about or know.

The thought of STR really stresses some people out but in the end they are very similar to Long term just the returns are more.

Next year will be MUCH better and less stressful.