@Caleb Spillyards I'd suggest first zeroing in on the strategy you're pursuing--you mentioned numerous strategies that are all quite different. You are right to be wary of STRs right now (there are plenty of articles/forum posts etc. describing the risks of STRs).
I would also say that BRRR'ing and flipping are very risky and difficult at the moment (even for experienced pros). Plus, BRRR'ing and flipping are relatively advanced strategies, and you mentioned that you're a beginner--so, they don't really match your experience level... I always make the analogy that trying to BRRR with no prior REI experience is a bit like trying to surf a 50 foot wave with no surfing experience--the chances of success are slim, and there are MUCH better, lower risk ways to learn to surf--similarly, there are much better ways to learn real estate investing.
In my opinion, house hacking (a single fam or small multifam) is the single best way for people to get started in real estate investing.
Why? Because, house hacking can produce great financial returns, it teaches you essential RE investing skills, but (compared to more advanced strategies like BRRR'ing or wholesaling), it is comparatively lower risk, simple and beginner-friendly (and therefore has the highest likelihood of success).
More specifically:
1. A HH can produce great financial returns. A HH can substantially lower your living expenses, while creating cashflow, appreciation, mortgage pay down, and tax benefits. A HH can also involve opportunities to force appreciation and/or rent (e.g.; by adding an extra bedroom in a previously under-utilized space). When executed correctly and repeatedly, house hacking can be very lucrative, and there are multi-millionaires who built their fortunes on repetitive house hacking! Although it's a strategy that's good for beginners, there are plenty of very experienced RE investors who continue to HH, because it's such a powerful strategy.
2. A house hack will teach you the essential skills you'll need to succeed in RE investing. With a HH, you can learn how to analyze properties & markets, how to find an investor-friendly agent, how to spot value-add opportunities at properties, how to engage in a strong due diligence process, how to screen tenants, how to manage the property, how to build a network of contractors, plumbers, electricians and other pros, how to manage the book keeping of the property, etc., etc., etc. If you want to succeed in RE investing, getting this experience will be critical! In my experience, a HH can provide incredibly valuable lessons that no mentor, real estate course, book or podcast could ever teach (though, I'd still highly recommend reading up on relevant RE resources, listening to podcasts, etc.).
Plus, if you decide to do one of the other strategies in the future (such as BRRR'ing or out of state investing), you'll be much more prepared to do it if you have a few HH's under your belt--a ton of the lessons you'll learn from a HH can be used to succeed in other areas of real estate ...in fact, I'd say that a HH should be a necessary prerequisite to the more advanced strategies (like flipping) for most folks!
3. Compared to other strategies (like flipping, wholesaling, etc.), HH is relatively simple and lower-risk, and therefore has a higher chance of success. I always use this analogy: would you tell a beginner skier who has zero experience to ski a double black diamond (the most advanced terrain) for their first run? (obviously, no; a beginner could easily get themselves killed on double black diamond terrain!). Beginners should start off on beginner terrain, where they actually have a chance to learn and succeed. A house hack is like that beginner run (but BRRR'ing, wholesaling, and out-of-state investing are more like double black diamonds).
The fact of the matter is: real estate is often a high-stakes endeavor, and the more advanced strategies (like BRRR'ing, wholesaling, flipping, out of state investing, etc.) can easily bankrupt a beginner when they're executed poorly.
Now, having said all that, house hacking is not necessarily easy (if it were, everyone would do it!)...it's just easier than the more advanced strategies...House hacking still takes significant due diligence, skill in analyzing the market and the property, time and effort to learn about tenant screening and property management, the ability to anticipate appreciation/depreciation trends, etc., etc., etc....and even with lots of skill and preparation, things will still go wrong (vacancy, plumbing leaks, bad tenants, etc.)--but that's the nature of the game. As James Brown sang: you gotta pay the cost to be the boss.
Good luck out there!
