You will have more money to invest and way less stress.

Hello! I am a newbie investor from the Bay Area, CA who currently has one SFH in Indianapolis that is being rented out. I am trying to get my 2nd rental property some time this year in the same market (open to a diffe...

Or using a hard money loan or other creative financing a better route to go?

He made his early money on Bitcoin and was not successful at Cintas. 

Unless you are looking to go hard money you will not secure financing for a vacation home with 5-10% down.

To win as a first-time or seasoned house hacker who is ok with less space, you want to look for funky layouts.For example, a three bed and a one bed is a huge score because you can live in the small unit and make more money without room hacking or wasting space in your unit.

@Collin HendersonI think the best move is to find a private money lender to loan you the money for the rehab, then refinance into a conventional loan.

-If you do a long term rental, how do you pay back the hard money lender/private lender (if you use one)?

You lose the rent money that he didn't pay and you have to pay someone else to finish the job.

Has anyone here used Monarch money?