The duplex situation makes sense too: renting it out again short-term after the downstairs tenant leaves could bring in decent money, especially with the upstairs upgrades.

Purchase price: $255,000 Cash invested: $51,000 Second property, bought soon after the first multi-family.

I actually ended up going through a big career change, and attended a 6-month bootcamp to learn Software Development after 7 years cooking professionally in fine-dining kitchens. 

For example, what would the cash flow be like after you renovate and lease out at the new rates?

This would end up getting you some tax benefits and extra cash flow that could help you leverage that into another property...maybe a 1031 exchange.

Other options include the BRRRR strategy, which allows you to recycle your capital by refinancing after renovations, or partnering with an experienced investor to scale faster.

Also, after you find the homeowners and get in contact with them, what's your next step?

After the operator exceeds 90 days in a calendar year, the conditional use permit process must be started.

Pretty easy to not check this and have a failure after you close...

I had the lightswitch moment after investing in NC for a while and I would get ok cash flow, but the properties I owned all doubled in value in about 5-6 years and I realized I could appreciate my way to financial success much faster than I could cash flow my way there.