Staying local and house hacking—especially now, before kids—gives you so much flexibility to set yourselves up for long-term success.Your financial foundation is super strong, and house hacking a quad sounds like an amazing first step for you two.

It wasn't fun living an hour and a half from work and play, but absolutely worth it.If one is starting with relatively low living expenses, cash flow can be extremely powerful towards reaching financial freedom.

As you delve deeper into the world of real estate, staying informed and adaptable will be key to achieving your financial goals.

If it’s verbal, they’ll need to document any prior communication or payment records to establish the relationship.If the PM is completely unresponsive, they may want to send a formal written demand for communication and payments via certified mail.

Also, I'm stuck with out-of-state investing which brings a whole series of risks with minimized financial upside (in my opinion) 

You could, for the purposes of verifying that you are not renting to someone who is potentially dangerous or financially incapable of shouldering the burden of being a roommate, ask them to apply through Zillow so that you can see their background check, that also gives you the opportunity to have others who might be interested in being your roommate as well, apply.

So just something to think about.I would be looking hard at their financials, and I would look hard at what capex is needed. 

And you need to keep detailed records of all repairs and improvements.

Good luck on your journey and I hope you provide the financial security you hope for to your daughters. 

Accurate records of all expenditures are essential to claim deductions and calculate the cost basis for future capital gains taxes, including depreciation recapture.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.