Very solid market, been investing there over 10 yrs and the rents continue to climb! 

It sounds like you’ve got a solid foundation with your rental property, and I love the ambition behind your plans to build a property management and maintenance company—it’s a great way to take control of your investments while creating additional opportunities.Best of luck to you! 

It sounds like you’ve got a solid plan and a great passion for real estate investing.

Quote from @Jack Sarcia: Hey Dennis, solid question! 

The 5-10 it gets heavier and a lot busier, and 10-15-20 it really is untenable to self-manage especially if this is not you main business like a person buying their own rentals and building it like a small business. 

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.

Investors come to our market because of the low barrier to entry and that we have a solid tenant base that provides solid cash flow to out-of-state investors like yourself.

LoopNet will have on market deals.That being said, I’ve seen plenty of awful off market deals and plenty of solid on market deals.

It’s awesome that you’re diving into real estate and taking the time to build a solid foundation first.

Some exceptions can be made but the only real way around it would be to get a solid cosigner for the loan with a good W2.