Moving back home to the Eastern Shore of Va, about an hour south of Ocean City, Md.

Also, a broker we are talking to said we easily qualify financially but her underwriter will require us to 1) move out of our townhome first into a temporary month to month rental, and 2) rent out our townhouse first and 3) then show the underwriter the 1-year minimum lease to satisfy them that we are not going to commit fraud and not move into the duplex. 

People here on the South Shore do it frequently and often have multiple takers.

I've been watching my local rental and housing market closely over the last 6 months (btwn Den and CS) and can't help but get the impression that there may just be a temporary investor/rental glut at this time.

I think there are some online banks that have nice returns but for me I’m not really trying to have a savings account generating interest at a bank but rather in real estate and the money in the bank is only a temporary holding spot

Maybe get a temporary place in the one that seems the most desirable, but then take some time to explore others while you are out here. 

I dont have an agent to recommend for north shore but I'm happy to share my experience.Best of luck!

This will be temporary only.ORThey will scowl and frown and stick to their guns. 

It may be that you are charging too little for rent, and can resolve the problem by raising rents.Negative cash flow isn't ALWAYS bad if it is temporary. 

I briefly looked into some areas in northeast NJ, some close to the shore, some properties slightly north of the Bronx, some cheaper Connecticut areas, etc.