Any brokerage can be the right fit for you so long as you commit to taking initiative and putting in the work.By 'work', I mean income-producing activities (lead generation and follow-up) i.e. cold calling, door-knocking, contacting your sphere of influence, networking, hosting open houses, running online advertising, marketing (paper or online), or anything else that will get you in front of prospective clients.My first broker rarely answered my phone calls and by the time she responded, I'd often already have the answer I was looking for.

Mine have appreciated off of the charts in the Charlotte metro market.

How valuable is this location in that market? 

Tremont is an excellent area with really high market rents and super high demand.  5000+ sq ft. is huge too, congratulations!

I plan to manage the properties myself until it conflicts with my regular job.I would appreciate any advice on these markets to ensure success and connect with local investors.    

Hopefully we will be managing a handful of other STRs in the same market in the future.

Have you had an appraisal done recently, or do you have comps to estimate the property's market value?

I would always lean towards markets that are landlord-friendly. 

I tried attending one in my local market a couple of times but felt like I was in some hotel ballroom being pitched on how the 12 year-old kid up in front would teach us all how to run to the back of the room to swipe $10K on our AMEX for the secrets of real estate investing.

I was interested in this type of deal because I was living in the area for another year and needed to build equity as well as dip my feet into the real estate market.