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I would bet 4plex 203k (refi later to get out of lifetime MI) would be better if you plan to stay in one location for at least a few years. technically, I think you have to live in it 12 months, look into current regs, you might be able to rinse and repeat annually.

Stay away.There are numerous REIA and Meetups in the Baltimore Washington area that are free or almost free where you can immerse yourself in the industry. 

I would stay away from the big cities as the rent doesn't justify the overly high purchase prices and HOA fees. 

Stay in the upper Union area,  Bellevue (near Rotterdam line) or around Ellis Hospital.

On the other hand, by house hacking you may achieve the same living for free scenario or let’s say that you are $100-$200 out of pocket, but you will also benefit from principal pay down (you gain equity with each mortgage payment), tax breaks, inflation (each year your rent may increase, while your mortgage payment stays the same), and appreciation (maybe).

I suspect the brokerage community is going to start telling their agents to turn in violators.one of my Oregon bird dogs just put a sign in the yard neighbor got pissed off as they wanted the house turned him into the state .. its kind of like getting a DUI  cost you about 10 to 15k first offense and a cease and desist..So then I went on to ask her about transactional funding as I have been a party to that a bunch of times and wanted to make sure I was legal.. she said NO way.. they deem that as some sort of fraud.. idea is the lender and wholesaler are in cahoots and scheming and marketing a property they dont' own and its prima facia evidence when they see two deeds in one day and a middle man payout.so bottom line you need to get into title and stay there for a few weeks BEFORE you market the property.. but as the regulator said.. they only respond to complaints right now.. so don't piss off any sellers or agents  LOL. 

Staying active on these forums and listening to podcasts can help you as well :)

Stay focus and keep on networking.

My personal experience too and this is for those that do not plan on owning them forever and willing them to your kids or next of kin at a stepped up basis.but for those like me that were thinking hey I will own these 7 to 10 years take the write offs then sell retail..I did all that sold retail but what I was not thinking about is that a 10 to 14 year old home even though I bought them brand new.. to sell retail   what was acceptable when I bought them  tile counter tops  black appliances etc etcnow retail buyers standard is granite stainless  new paint 3 colors floors perfect etc etc.so it was costing me 20 to 25k per home to do a retail up grade to sell them for retail prices.. along with cap ex ( which in my case was minimal) since these were only 10 to 14 years old.. but then roofs being replaced because of hail that cost deductible.. and so on and so forth.. the cost of owning and keeping these nice is just more than you can raise rents in most markets.. that's my experience I got top rents in the day but they never went up much during the 10 to 14 years of  ownership.. just like I see modest type rentals that rent for 700 to 900 those rents have stayed pretty constant for the last 20 years .. and prices to fix stuff has gone way up..