It seems to me that because you are going with the new construction route, with the bulk of the down payment provided by your grandparents, you would be missing out on this key benefit of the house hacking strategy as I bet the lenders are going to require a minimum of 20% down. 

The loan officer promises to give updates in the next day or two and will only call me a week later still at the same step as before and only start the next step because I consistently hounded them. 

It's a smart strategy, especially for first-time investors looking to maximize their real estate investment returns.

@Helen Brennick The BRRRR strategy is great but keep in mind what @Travis Timmons mentioned.

That's the really the first thing to figure out, if conditions even warrant or allow this strategy. 

As long as you develop your Core 4 like David Green’s mentioned in his long-distance investing strategy (realtor, contractor, property manager, and lender), you should be able to invest anywhere with confidence.

Looking for deals out of state may not be a bad idea, although I would not recommend it for a new investor unless you have good knowledge and have had time to study the market you want to invest in.Another option is to tweak your strategy a bit, and instead of looking just at the cash flow, you look more at appreciation, which brings me to your comment about having missed the boat.

I am still active duty with a few years left, we are developing our investment strategy now (LTR, STR, Notes, Liens). 

Powerful strategy.

There's always a few who slip past or go bad after they move in.Understanding people will make you richer more consistently and safely than hitting the next big trend, unless you're just insanely lucky.I've said more than enough.