@Michael J Lubitz Best way to get started! I started by house hacking a triplex and have been doing about a house hack a year ever since, slowly building my portfolio. Similar goals as you. I'd spend some time analyzing deals in the local market and getting familiar with the prices/rents of the areas you might be interested in living in. It's definitely still doable to find a place where you can live for free/make money every month. It's getting harder to find 3-4 units but I would hold out to find one since you'll want to take the most advantage of the low down payment loan. I'm a fan of value add properties that need some rehab work or have rents that are below market. Spend the time living there updating the units and getting those rents to market rent. Starting out when you are low on cash you can DIY some stuff to save money and learn what goes into rehabbing places. Typically easier to find something where the numbers make sense on these kinds of properties too compared to a newly rehabbed one.