Remember, this will be my first-ever home purchase.

I learned early on landlording that you've gotta be really careful with how nice you are to people, because many will take advantage.

This can be a great way to start building wealth without taking on too much risk.Learning Experience: House hacking will give you hands-on experience in managing a rental property.

The taxes, insurance, legal, upkeep, vacancies will drive you nuts if a few hundred dollars ruins your day. ;-) When foreclosures are common, (which they are not right now), I send out two thousand letters a week.

We do know that water will keep going up.

Will they be hard to find?

I will address it promptly.  

It may be a bit complex at first glance, but with reps and time it will make more sense.

This will guide me in deciding on what to begin with.

The sq ft price also doesn't matter because a 1500sq ft 3/1 and a 1000sq ft 3/1 will have roughly the same kitchen cost and the extra 500 sq ft is generally the cheapest part of the rehab with paint and flooring