From what I see and read, I don't think there is a loan that would allow me to do this, so I am thinking I have to get creative, Unless I am unaware of an option out there... but any advice is appreciated :)I am aiming to buy a house in the Atlanta area that I can improve/fix up to increase the value, but instead of selling it quickly as a flip, I would like to live in it!

A multi family is your property and you’re your own boss plus the property value will increase faster than a condo will.

not saying that others that chime in are not correct but there are alot of  myths floating around that are NOT true. 

I am not exposed to the golden distro list group that accredited investors (and above... banks, gse etc) who share tapes in the closed community.How to access that (other than increasing my salary above 200k and buy up mansions worth 1M and more and find a renter... 🤪)Any serious tips?

Mike Terry I am not confident that rising rates will slow down home price increases...especially in states with strong economics like Florida.

But you definitely could benefit from increased efficiency in the tenant acquisition phase. 

There are ALL kinds of things that you can do to increase revenue stream.Hold open houses.  

There’s no much you can do to increase/decrease the rates, so focus on what you can control which is on finding deals that meet your investing criteria.

All disclosures aside, I do anticipate 3 MORE rate increases from the fed this year, maybe 4 @ 0.25% each. 

But today, the prices are inflated and rent increases are trailing well behind in the area, so for buyers today with this company are not going to see at best but modest cash flow on the rehabs - that is if you are buying with leverage (conventional loan).