Frank, For a rookie investor with low capital looking to build a rental portfolio, the best strategy is house hacking: buy a small multi-family home with a low down payment (FHA or conventional loan), live in one unit, and rent the others to cover your mortgage.

LA City here~How do you market your rental to insurance companies directly for temporary home placement?

Many DSCR programs require an investor to have a mortgage history- there are some DSCR mortgage programs that will work with investors who are renting- some refer to them as first time home buyers (FTHBs)- DSCR loans are only for investment properties where the owner isn't living there.

The home would be about 6 weeks for my team customarily but the outside is large so 2 extra weeks to be safe.

Basically, you can't STR an entire home here, or even an ADU, and can only STR out a portion of a home that you reside in.

I work for a flooring company as a designer and meet contractors and people who flip homes regularly so it has me flirting with the idea of doing it myself.My question is, how did you get your spouse to be on board with real estate investing?

Also, would a home warranty be a smart move?

For example if a single family home rents for $1700 in your area.

Focus on analyzing properties and starting small, like house hacking or buying a single-family home to rent out rooms, while ensuring cash flow and maintaining an emergency fund.

Quote from @Yaroslav Shtogun: Good morning,Some updates, we did home inspection and the house is not good condition since it was built in 1950 and was not maintained well.