I also want to use this time to improve my credit score since it is not in a very impressive place right now.

I was curious about starting low with 250k doing construction draws or renovation draws.

We have priced in the low 7’s for well qualified situations to much higher.

Several reasons:  Phoenix is an expensive and hyper-competitive market; your monthly income is $4K which in and of itself is limiting, but even more so with most of that being cash; and your credit score, while not terrible, needs to be raised, especially with you being self employed and a mostly cash income.

Tax forgiveness is a credit that allows eligible taxpayers to reduce all or part of their Pennsylvania personal income tax liability.

However, for a landlord who has things together, they are better off budgeting for capital expenses and maintenance and having some reserves either in the form on savings or even an open line of credit to access in case a significant issue arises.

If rent is at market or low,  also tax and insurance.

do you both have good credit scores? 

Forum posts about other markets show success stories of seller-finance deals with low money out of pocket.

House hacking is an awesome way to experiment in a relatively low risk environment.