I'm a newbie investor who recently relocated to the Triangle area and am looking to get the ball rolling on my real estate investing career.

It's tough to visualize based on the pictures you've got.One thing to keep in mind is the Triangle Rule for kitchens.  

The reason in this giant difference is because this lot has one end as a "triangle", it seems that the 3000 SQFT is calculated base on the triangle is a full rectangle. 

I was thinking of bracing it with steel in a right triangle shape.

In my area, the meter has a small red triangle that spins as water moves through the meter.

There's no real geographic advantage for Silicon Valley or Research Triangle, other than those areas have been nurtured by a pipeline of innovation through education and tech-friendly public policy.

As for Mayberry, Hell yeah it's wonderful here in the Triangle! 

While Asheville has a number of schools (all small), the houses are more expensive, crime is higher, the population is smaller, and in my opinion, it doesn't have the draws that Raleigh has (capital plus it's part of that famous triangle lol).  

More expensive route: (doesn't look like it would be a fit for the area) New windows, new awning with a pie top (flat on either side but triangle at front when looking straight at it), replace the cedar with a composite version, paint the siding if salvageable, and do a stone veneer up to the bottom of the windows and at the bottom of both 4x4 pillars (boxed out to 12x12").

Your best bet would probably be to use some keywords like Raleigh, Durham, Triad, Research Triangle, Greenville (or really I just used them for you) as those areas have many investors and are not too far from Rocky Mount.