How confident are you that it will appreciate 3%?

As for Philadelphia, where I am from, you’re going to face older housing stock, more regulatory complexity, and neighborhood-by-neighborhood variability, manageable, but not ideal when starting out.Once you build equity and confidence, you can diversify into other markets.

Then lock the deal up about a week before closing on sale  (Most sellers are willing to wait one week for your property to close, longer is a big ask.)Reach out to @Dave Foster here on BP.

@Andrew Foster some decent advice here, but also some feedback from those who really don't have enough info to support their perspective.Many DIY investors price repairs on materials only and forget about labor as they do their own work.We're a PMC in Metro Detroit, but here's how our process would work:1) MoveOut Video & Pics used to create Scope Of Work (SOW)2) SOW broken down into Priority Categories:- Health & Safety- Government Required (municipality/S8 inspection requirements)- Property Preservation- Marketing Impact / Tenant Retention- Miscellaneous3) Bids obtained if we feel work will exceed Owner Approval Threshold4) Bid sent & discussed with owner to, "redline to their budget"5) Work begins once owner approves & funds6) Completion video/pics providedOf course, while this is going on our Marketing Dept would be doing a rental analysis & ad, and discussing with owner.

I also host monthly pizza nights to foster a sense of community.Things ran smoothly for the first two months.

Another underrated aspect of house hacking is the confidence it will give you.

I want to work my way up to having the confidence for in person REI meet ups.

This approach will provide confidence in assumptions and align the necessary equity to successfully close the asset.

I'm confident in the value that Pace is creating and what the Subto Community is delivering every day. 

@Dave Foster is who I use as a QI for 1031s and he is excellent.