For me personally, I am hesitant to sell unless it really makes sense.

Best regards, This approach is neutral and objective, focusing strictly on the criteria, and avoids discussing any specifics about the applicant’s personal situation.

Tampa has amazing growth potential and have personally witnessed @Josh Green work miracles for his clients.

Awesome to see a new investor-minded person here.. do you have a favorite real estate success story already?

Quite the opposite - I invest my personal money as just one more member, in each investment we end up doing as a club. 

You can find something in Durham and parts of Raleigh, specifically zips 27610, 27603, and parts of 27604 that would meet your criteria, however generally speaking most of the inventory that would fit what you are looking for in Raleigh or Durham would likely be in neighborhoods that I personally wouldn't want to invest in, C- to D type neighborhoods.

Personally, I'd cash-out refinance into a 30 or 15 year loan.

There is a big difference in how those are handled  HAHA I just saw a post and commented where the person wanted to ask if they should overpay for a home because they can get is seller financing.

Personally, my favorite way of sourcing deals is building relationships with brokers and nurturing those relationships by checking in consistently.

By themselves, improvements to property you own are considered to by personal property and not real property.