On the other hand, house hacking a 2–4 unit property in your local market lets you live in one unit, generate rental income from the others, and learn the ins and outs of being a landlord hands-on.

Total Active Single Family Agent Listed Homes + Pending Transactions by CityCityActive SFR ListingsPendingSeaside526Cannon Beach464Manzanita175Rockaway Beach545Pacific City323Lincoln City18939Depoe Bay6015Yachats378Florence539Lakeside175Coos Bay11332Bandon7313Gold Beach779Brookings7812Eugene545196

In CA you can definitely add the ADU to the existing property but adding a hands off ADU in Southern CA is typically a poor to horrendous RE investment.  

That means listings are staying on the market longer, which increases the total number of homes available.

Quote from @Jo Bradley: 2 thoughts….For me, once I owned more than a handful of properties, the deals started coming to me.

I love the oatmeal cookie comparison 😂 and totally agree on the agent piece.

If you’ve got the time and energy, I always recommend value-add deals like BRRRR - but only if you can be hands-on. 

You’ve got $500K in cash and want to build and sell Single-Family Homes..You have two paths forward1️⃣ - Leverage: Build and Sell 5 Homes- $80K Per Vacant Lot ($400K Total)- $250K Cost Per Home ($1.25M Total)- Construction loans at 80% LTC- $500K Home Value ($2.5M Total)💰 Profit: $550K (After Closing Costs, Financing, & Contingency)2️⃣ - All Cash: Build and Sell 1 Home- Buy 1 lot and build 1 home- Same costs, no loan, no interest- Home sells for $500K💰 Gross Profit: $130K (After Closing Costs & Contingency)Same $500K.

We have a handful of rentals in our portfolio and I'm analyzing the coverage we already have.  

Totally valid question, especially in NYC where having the right tools (and people) makes all the difference.