To allow myself to create a form of income that doesn't restrict you on your work-life balance.I joined this platform to learn, grow, and gain knowledge.

If the financial risks associated with Option 1 are within your comfort zone and you're confident in the rental income covering your new debt obligations, this could be a viable path given the potential for immediate home appreciation and avoiding multiple moves.

You can rent it to yourself, but then you would also have to declare that income, so it becomes a wash and not a write-off?  

Actually, given the opportunity to generate rental income and the potential for risk reduction via diversification, modest multifamily residences could be a prudent investment.Kindly feel free to ask any specific questions or seek advice before starting your next real estate venture.

Look at the whole market and all the factors that would effect income potential. 

I always prefer SFR because you can always build additional rooms/ADU to increase rental income and price of the property.

I have a spreadsheet set up already but the "Short term rental, long term wealth" book didn't go into that much detail in estimating gross annual income.

So, you aren't paying income tax on the money your putting in now.

Then have a high savings rate by limiting spending to what you prioritize and maximizing income by focusing on what you know. 

This means that you model the income and expenses for each.The reality is that those are two very different income models, long term rental is a passive income investment (per IRS, not reality), STR is a business.If you are conservative, you want the STR to be able to function as an LTR in the event that sufficient bookings don't happen or local regulation makes operating the STR untenable.When you buy an STR you should be looking at very different criteria than if you are buying an LTR.