I agree that all investing should be focused on "making money", and many people on these forums talk about "I want to scale", "I want to own real estate", etc.  

To have debt sitting on your HELOC without any plan to refinance and pay it off at the very least limits your options to scale and at worst can really throw a wrench into cash flow.

Invest in Single-Family Homes if….Your primary goal is appreciationYou want longer-term, stable tenantsYou want an asset that’s more liquidInvest in Small Multi-Family Properties if…Your primary goal is cash flowYou want to scale your portfolio quickly –You’re willing to contend with more turnover risk and liability riskIn general, single-family homes tend to appreciate better than multifamily properties.

BLUF: it's okay to use USAA if you are going to house hack as a method of scaling your real estate investment business...I would recommend finding a lender that understands your need beyond the normal consumer level services. 

Hello BP family,Looking to scale quickly and obtain cash flow in a smaller market where homes are around $100k.  

Good property management software helps you scale.

The good thing companies are related. Property Management ( We upgrade value added Multifamilies) we work on increasing cashflow with construction improvements.  We have a Real Estate Investor friendly firm. And are a...

If they're looking for cheaper properties and want to scale faster, especially with multifamily, I think choosing a smaller market like Toledo or Dayton makes more sense than someone who already has more wealth and looking for more appreciation in markets like Columbus and Cincinnati. 

How do I scale and grow my portfolio from this first home into another and so on, in this market.

I think an investor should have one or maybe two dedicated lenders if doing scale.