Hi Kmsuea, it all depends on your commitment to actively looking for and purchasing a property. 

Charleston etc. is that folks there are HIGHLY dependent on local attorneys to do their paper work/ escrow functions prep deeds etc etc. 

It mostly depends on what opportunities are put in front of you though.

The market is always evolving and there may be good deals to be had near term or you may need to wait a while, depending on many factors like interest rates etc.

In our experience, things move in ebbs and flows and the speed of rental depends on your asking rents relative to competition.For example, there was a period of several months at one of our properties when a 3 or 4 BR unit came on the market it rented almost instantly. 

Rent probably around 1400-1500/month depending on finishes and exact location.The number simply don't work well in Huntsville right now.

Going to depend much more on more details / your personal situation - all things equal you will probably get better rate/terms on conventional if you qualify for both

It depends on what the terms of your mortgage are.Pros-with no mortgage, you have higher cash flow.Cons-if you plan on buying more properties, you are better off saving the money for a down payment for your next place.The big questions are: can you get higher than 7% return if you invest that money elsewhere? 

We put $75K down to begin with and likely have $85-100K in equity ( depending on what non-scientific source you check since I haven't had a full appraisal done) on it.

Unfortunately with those numbers it's tough to find a non-bank lender/financial institution that will lend.Usually loan minimums are $50K and the up to 75% LTV on purchase-money/70% LTV on cash-out refinancing, which basically means you need up 25-30% depending on the type of financing.