Validation: buying a property in public

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for a while. I'm exploring a few options, and this is one of them. Here's the pitch:

There are plenty of real estate blogs / newsletters / etc. They all give this great advice, but it's rarely relatable.

My background is in managing data for one of the largest cities in the country. I understand how cities work, where to find hidden data (such as where cities plan to invest), and how to evaluate the performance of an area.

I am starting the process of buying a first home/investment property. My strategy is a "house hack" where I use a loan to buy a multi-unit property and rent out the second unit.

I am pretty flexible and looking at multiple places across the United States. As a first time home buyer / investor, I'm trying to understand:

• How mortgage and financing works
• How to estimate rate of return on an investment
• Estimating costs vs Costs / Cost of living

My experience becomes really handy when I'm looking at a local market.

• Rent to Income ratios (drive tenant stability)
• Government assistance programs (Section 8, landscaping, solar, etc)
• Ease of permitting / building additions
• Local market forecasts and performance
• Estimating current and future amenities and how they influence price / rent growth or decline
• Understanding population/crime rates of an area
• Finding up and coming neighborhood

The audience here would be tech / data savvy people who are interested in buying an investment property and want to follow along on a journey.

This follows the notion of building in public, but not necessarily the tech perspective.

I would love to know what you think of the idea and whether it's worth pursuing!