It sounds like you want to be a rental property owner/investor and not just looking to minimize your out of pocket housing expenses (getting a roommate to help cover your mortgage with a single family home).  

I'm bringing in temporary rental housing to cover expenses while investigating building the first permanent home.

This will give you an idea of the average sale price and what you can expect to get for the property if you make the necessary repairs and upgrades.Property History: Look into the property's history, including any previous owners, liens, or legal issues.

Private money can be expensive; it would be best to have an exit strategy.

Most Jumbo lenders use IRS returns net number so be careful filing your 2023 tax return in not making the expenses total greater than 25% of income which will generally be the hit on gross rents. 

you will want Handyman insurance, and as @Glen Morrow stated, you will not be allowed to pull permits, per state law, you would need a contractors license to pull permits, and technically to do work on a 1-2 family dwelling. to get the license you need to complete a 12 hour training, and pass a test, and have appropriate insurance, Quite expensive insurance at that.

I was not able to buy a duplex, triplex, or quadruplex since the mortgage would've been more expensive, but it was my first idea. 

For B/C properties that have some age, you need to UW a 45% expense ratio into your calculations.For A and/or newer properties, you can use 30-35%.

Hello, I was reading the book and was wondering if you can share the link to download the flow chart income/expense. 

This is an average condition house for the neighborhood and area.I have set my screening requirements as:600-650+ credit score3 times monthly rentNo evictions, violent, or sex crimes6+ months of job historySome form rental references.I have an applicant who meets all requirements except I am unsure if he will have rental references because he told me he's couch surfing right now.