I bought two places with REI in 2024, one in Huntsville and one in Little Rock.

Most, if not all are in older neighborhoods without a HOA and on the bus line. 

Read a book, or even a blog like this one:  Application Screening GuideIf the landlord had called the previous landlord (me) they would have immediately denied her."

It all comes back to Landlord who pays the full bill, so it's really not insurance at all.

You can live in one unit and rent out the other three.

Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”.Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination.Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection.Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening.Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation.Where did we get our FICO credit score information from?

Not that I am aware of, but I am not aware of all softwares on the market. 

When I did my research for buying my properties in Costa Rica, I had one of the big STR management companies like Evolve analyze my potential profits and I used that info to raise money through bringing on partners to buy the properties. 

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.

@Vince Au no one can predict the future.There are some interesting facts you should confirm for yourself (NEVER believe anything anyone posts here!).