Are you married?    

I'm now married and moved across the river into my wife's paid for place but got another apt in Brooklyn just for airbnb.

If you are married, your spouse can get 10 in their name too! 

What I may consider a great house hack (married with a family) could be completely different from someone just graduating college!

I'm married with 4 children and looking to get into the real estate industry to provide for my family's future.

Then he can sell for $2mil, subtract his $500k basis, and hopefully he’s married $500k (or $250k if single) tax free.  

For a single taxpayer, up to $250,000 in capital gains can be excluded from taxation, and for married taxpayers filing jointly, up to $500,000 can be excluded, provided that:You owned the property for at least two out of the five years preceding the sale.You lived in the property as your primary residence for at least two out of the five years preceding the sale.Based on your description:You purchased your first primary residence in 2018 and lived there until mid-December 2020.

Couple of thoughts:1) If you sell existing home, you're most likely eligible for tax-free gain of $250k individual / $500k married.

Are you married? 

Never mind the fact that IRA phase out starts at $189k (married filing jointly) for IRAs, which makes this a policy aimed squarely at the bottom 95% of income earners.