Keep in mind HML are lending others money either on a credit line  Investors or a fund.. so the 12% rarely goes in total to the HML they may make a service fee of 1 to 2% but the rest will go to their cost of capital so their income is the points and junk fees.. in the scenario described above the OP will find it quite difficult to impossible to get a HML..

It's extremely difficult, if not impossible to cash flow in many parts of California on 1 - 4 unit properties. 

We can put 20% down on a out of state rental and the lender doesn't bat an eye but if we want to move our primary there it turns into a mess and is then extremely difficult/impossible unless we want to pay cash and that would not be a smart move.

House hacking is an excellent option to keep your living costs down -- whether you just have a roommate helping with expenses as you mentioned or if you buy a house with an Ohana unit or even a duplex, tri or quadplex (harder to find on this island because of zoning, but not impossible) and rent out the extra units. 

After relocating to another state it’s my observa nearly impossible to know the niches you need in the RE market without living and breathing it regularly.

If the photographer did a good job, it's just near impossible to tell the finishes.

It just doesn't seem fair to be only able to apply major improvements to one side's cost basis or the other, when in the end there is one sale price, and it impossible to know how the improvements effected that sale price in the end. 

@Jordan BabichHi Jordan,In the San Diego market, having something that cash flows while house hacking is a bit difficult to find, but not impossible.

@Michael TuckThere are areas where the 1% rule will be almost impossible to achieve.

I was told at the time of booking both Airbnb and vrbo api pull the data from OR making this impossible.