Who wants to bet the daughter has maxed out student loans, they both have iPhones, and make needless purchases? 

I am interested in starting with short term rentals to reach financial freedom and flexibility.

Personally I have thought buying in mixed use zoning could be an interesting opportunity as you can use it for residential or commercial and having that flexibility of commercial property with 5% down if you live in for a while and it seems like a potentially good idea in some areas.

I bet realistically most people would stop there.

The other option I would consider is regional credit unions that hold onto mortgages/loans and don't sell them to the secondary market - they are "portfolio lenders" and have the ability to be more flexible with their terms.

It is simply a high-stakes gamble that you have to exit in 3 yrs or the bet won't pay off.

So my point would be that the appraised value isn't always equal to actual value on a purchase appraisal.If everyone is month to month you have a lot of flexibility to go back to them and say, "Hey, we just got the property tax increase for the year and this will necessitate an increase in rent to $X,XXX/ month.  

I bet you were ecstatic when that deal finally closed lol!

For under $300k, both shipping containers and modular homes can be great options—modular might offer a bit more flexibility with design. 

It’s common to hit some hurdles with traditional lenders, especially when LTV requirements are strict or when cash flow doesn’t align with standard underwriting practices.If you're looking to refinance quickly and pull out cash, private lenders might be more flexible with both LTV and the cash-out process.