It's hard to say offer amount without knowing the rehab part since that could blow this out the water.  

I live in Charlotte and would prefer a multi-family investment property that is within a 3-4 hour drive so I'm considering areas that include: Charlotte, Raleigh / Research Triangle, Charleston, and Atlanta.

The alternative is to go with a single-family home, live in it for about 1.5 years, and then purchase another home while renting out the first one.

The only thing that sounds out of the ordinary here is the water bill

You have multiple who do this for a living telling you how it works.

Note that water penetration is not limited to flooding from rising water levels on the ground in a weather event.

I'd level up with a BRRRR, live-in flip, or house-hack before jumping into a challenging renovation.

We paid off our primary home last year and have been slowly getting the courage to jump into the investing market where we live in the Pacific Northwest.

There is an extreme accountability, which is what you must seek to better your lives.

If you are willing to live in urban areas you may want to talk to a local bank in your market and see if they have any incentives or grant loans for certain areas.