Not only would it decrease your monthly mortgage but you'd be able to get into it with a very little down payment since you'd be living in one side of it. 

My plan is to use a low down payment conventional loan, and with the factors you mentioned, it’ll likely be tough to find a property that breaks even.

The strategy I'm following for my first house hack is to acquire a multifamily property (duplex, triplex, quadplex) or SFH w/ an ADU (or potential for an ADU) as I am mainly looking to simultaneously acquire my first property and subsidize my mortgage payment.

In this type of situation, they want low interest rate with low down payment also.

These programs offer options for less money down and in some cases DPA - Down payment assistance.As a banker for over 18+ years I am very skeptical when I hear a new name in the business only because its become tougher to lend with all of the new laws and credit/insurance requirements and regulations.  

The cost associated with insurance for not having 20% is peanuts compared to what you potentially can do leveraging your down payment. 

You end up having to sell to someone with higher down payments, better credit, better operating plan, and 100% investors who never want to pay top prices.  

Set up a Joint account with the seller so you can make deposits to continue the automatic payments to the lender until you refinance the property.Thanks,Dustin

Low or no down, seller financing and low or no interest with a balloon payment later is the holy grail (location, building condition, market also matter but it sounds like you have all that).

Here in the Myrtle Beach area there are plenty of deals that will cash flow with a 25% down payment.