I have a unique situation as I have lived rent free most of my working years, at a boarding school that provides housing.

Most Homeowners Insurance policies require the house to be owner occupied. 

HI Blake,You can always start off by house hacking meaning you live in one UNIT or ROOM and renting out the other vacant units/rooms to offset your monthly mortgage payment.There are several ways to run and make sure you are maximizing your rental income while keeping your living expense as low as possible.

I try to offer solutions to their house problems.

Although I do not have a house that would benefit from one of these compact units, we have replaced 3 out of 4 of our homes with the LG 5 cu. ft High efficiency top load no agitator washers & the 7.3 cu ft top load dryer and my cleaners absolutely love them for the large load capacity and the custom drying time ability. 

I find the larger houses are more difficult to find good market rate comparable rents and they will likely attract applicants that bring more wear and tear. 

Inspector required me to place full house fire alarm even though I was not doing anything related to it.  

You can set up with the Post office to have all mail from the address routed to a different address, I.e. your house. 

@Matthew RichLooks like a beautiful house!

I have heard of landlords having success marketing to traveling nurses and to State Department staff returning from posts abroad (I believe they receive a generous stipend for housing as they transition back to the U.S.).