I am ready to talk to mortgage lenders and anyone who can help guide me on a financial plan to rebuild my credit and start a small savings to build up to my first house hack deal in Q4 this year in the Raleigh/ research triangle area. 

(I am starting investor, please understand)So many guys are buying in second-hand market, when original can not cover their mortgage payment because of the depreciating rent, and let go of their property at great value.

@Tobi Isaacs, I'm a licensed mortgage lender. 

Jimmy,You need to show (2) years of 1099 SE income in order to use FHA, or traditional financing to get approved for a mortgage.

I literally laughed through the phone at his suggestion, because I was broke, in debt, and in every way and unqualified borrower, and the lending environment in 2012 was probably stricter than it had been since the invention of the 30yr mortgage.

Having watched many prior co-workers get paid, cash their check at the casino, and promptly deposit it all into a slot machine I can tell you with pretty good certainty that casinos don't have a positive effect on disposable income and good use of the existing income in the area surrounding :)Are there solid local employers OTHER than the casino in a 15-minute drive? 

Deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, travel, and operational expenses.

I have a few properties and am also a mortgage broker, happy to answer any questions about general investing or financing options.

On the other hand, many landlords were able to obtain low mortgage rates during the historically low interest rate environment during the Pandemic, allowing them to offer a much more attractive housing cost to renters.

With current interest rates, and they are at least 1% higher with potentially additional points for non owner occupied property, it is hard to find properties that will allow for positive cash flow after paying the mortgage, if you are looking for money for the down payment from a private lender, those are normally at higher than market and I am not sure it would be possible to pay it off.... please remember you need to take into account that you may not have a tenant for a certain amount of time, a tenant may stop paying rent, or you will have a big ticket item to fix, so I would wait if I were you and save to have enough for the down payment and closing costs and perhaps some money set aside for repairs. you also want to make sure that you have your own emergency fund outside of the money needed for the investment property because life happens ....