I'm going to have to agree with the majority---using the "right" realtor can shrink your sales cycle, particularly in difficult market trends...You don't necessarily need to enlist the services of a listing agent---why not market to buyer's agents that specialize in unique/expensive properties?

At the same time, I think you shrink the rental pool when someone sees a house without appliances.

I understand that in general I should be looking for trends in employment, what sector is driving the market, where the good schools are, where population is growing or shrinking, how a neighborhood is trending, crime rates, etc.

The listing agent could get you to raise your bid higher and higher, thereby, shrinking your profit margin.

Not counting appreciation, you could be looking at around 640k in PV and 35k in positive CF/yr, and growing exponentially...or...you could accept this deal, with the negative CF accumulated to 67,200...and growing (or shrinking) every year.Negative CF isn't a loss based on its face value. 

This is a little high for asset based lenders, but not way out of spec. interest rates are on the rise, and investment margins are shrinking so risk is going up.

I have a couple of LTR’s currently leased that we own outright. Have had decent success and only a few issues. Looking at a STR in order to diversify and have a place to visit on occasion. A friend with LTR’s said pro...

It seems like the population is shrinking even though it's close to Charlotte and Winston Salem.

And the county population is shrinking.

Now that you have stretched my context into 100 there's no way I can shrink it back to 9 or even 20.