My thought is I buy a multi-fam (off market preferably) and house hack for 2 years then move south.

Many of the most successful (read as: founders that are worth well into the 9 figures, have survived multiple market cycles, etc) syndicators I know started by working in real estate for other companies.  

Or a general rough number for interior painting.I fully understand every market will be different.

Being a forward-thinking investor allows your portfolio to be more resilient in times of economic downturns or market fluctuations.

@Jenna MeditzThere are MANY new options on the market, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Apartments.com, Hemlane, Rentec.

Once you find a house that you believe would be a good rental, meaning desirable to your target market of customers (people within a couple of mile radius of the place), and all of the costs of monthly ownership that you can accurately project fall below the rental amounts that you project that you can get from your target customers, then you have a possible business asset that you can use to produce income, and have renters pay down the mortgage, while hopefully it goes up in value at least with the rest of the economy. 

Would like to make connections and get some advice about the market. 

In recent years, we've often heard predictions about a housing market crash.

The key to success in real estate investing lies in thorough research, strategic planning, and a willingness to adapt to changing market conditions.

@Brenda FreemanI think seller finance can make sense when you can get an at or above market price; you don't need the proceeds; you want the monthly income; and delaying the proceeds will make sense from a tax perspective.If you are saying there's an existing mortgage you would have to pay off yourself, then I don't think that makes any sense - why would you want to invest your own cash to make this work?