New Member in NC with a few questions

[Mitchell Wyatt]

Hi all,

Looking to get into investing with a single family rental and build a portfolio over time.  My initial thought was to look locally but I live in a small community about an hour outside of Charlotte, NC where the average rents are $650-$750.  My means for financing would most likely be a traditional loan after 20% down but based on these numbers, I'm having a hard time seeing how any investment would be cash flow positive after all expenses (incl. mortgage, capex, vacancy, etc). I'm really new to all of this so maybe I'm missing something but I'm curious if anyone else typically invests in areas where the rents are fairly low and how they make those deals profitable.

As a follow up, I'm also open to looking out of state and I keep coming back to Roofstock.com as an option for that.  I've read mostly positive reviews online but has anyone here used that platform?  What are the pros and cons, and would you recommend it for first time investors?

Thanks in advance for any feedback and I'm looking forward to learning from this community and getting to know some other investors!