But now I'm thinking of renting the whole house and getting a cheap apartment to save even more money.

I know it is expected that you will need to spend some money after someone moves out but I just didn't expect I was going to need to spend appx. $10k to get it rental-ready. 

By donating the owner will have the money they want.

Are you having trouble cash flowing with your current insurance ?

If you have mony in the deal and it is no longer bringing a proper return it may be time to move that money into another property that will return more.  

They all are if you ask them , its because they are getting your money .  

For the most part, most lenders are going to be relatively close in cost assuming we are talking about a straight forward loan product, we all borrower from the same pool of money to make these loans. 

Flipping houses is a great way to create huge profits, raise private money and create marketing content around your remodels (the reason HGTV is HGTV).

If you have extra money that you haven't earmarked for additional RE I would do TSM index funds for a truly passive investment. 

If you have a chunk of money to get going I'd personally buy the biggest thing you can if you don't I think house hacking into a 4 plex is great.