Plan to live in it and rent individual rooms with airbnb since i'm close to beach.

When a landlord makes a decision to buy new they entirely change the financial obligations of the tenant.

I recently got hired at a stereotypical office job that very quickly made me realize how much I crave financial independence.

I guess I’m mainly wondering if fix and flips will get me to financial freedom faster than rentals?

Rather it's about the property growth prospects.For instance, if you find a property where the rents are $200/month below comps because the units have 1970's decor in an area of high rent growth and the owner is an older retiring individual you may have something even if the current numbers don't work. 

The same money spent on MFR out of state at the time would have netted me a much greater financial benefit. 

I consider that to be a very naive and kind of a lazy way of doing financial calculations.So I really would suggest all Investors do at least a 10 year pro-forma projection business plan.

I'm 26, and working to get the life I want to live happily, financially free, and to the standard I uphold myself to through Real Estate!

You have to know how to read financial statements so you can begin to recognize a problem when it starts. 

Since 1975, prices have only dropped twice -- once in the mid-80s when the oil-centric Denver market was hit by the drop in oil prices; and a second time in the aftermath of the 2007-08 financial crisis.Now is a tricky time to sell.