Depending how much you earn you can step up those savings by getting a side-hustle.

. #1 because you will be living there yourself and can address issues as they come up. #2 because most property managers are too overwhelmed with the volume of units they manage to give you personalized, meaningful service. 

Certainly beats driving to a rental at midnight when your guests lock themselves out or monitoring your guests turning the thermostat down to 65 degrees and frying your HVAC unit.Ultimately, the decision depends on your comfort level.

We have a residential loan on the prop now and live in the fixer while we're renovating.

Good evening, My name is Sebastian Lough and I am a Texan currently living in Australia but moving back to Texas in December.

Ideally I would try to get a 3/4 unit property somewhere in DC proper, PG County or Montgomery County (Takoma Park/Silver Spring), live in one unit and rent out the others. 

It also was not decorated up to the standards of our market, another reason it was under-booked.Again, it really depends on the circumstances. but new STR owners need to really do their research and be fully informed when thinking through the management strategy, especially for larger and more complex homes.

Depending on what the seller is buying they may no need your flexibility anyway.

I am a tenant living in Chicago.

Hey Chris,Yeah, it's going to vary pretty widely by group, and even internally within a lender their programs will vary based on the committed square footage that is committed to residential v. commercial.You will also likely find variance depending on where the property is located and the active tenant situation.