Friedrich, I'd recommend starting with high level strategy and work your way down to granular tactical action steps which will help you identify where to focus time, energy, and resources.On a more tactical note, with $50,000 it will likely be very hard to find deals that cashflow in bigger metro markets like Charlotte, Raleigh, or Charleston.

After signing up, they then reached out about requiring an electrical and plumbing inspection.

I have a property manager actually do the showings, but any issues like plumber , electrical is a phone call away.The only challenge is it's a commercial loan, which requires more down, higher rates and shorter terms. 

And only 1 I can find that is WiFi that you can control from an app.https://www.amazon.com/Mysa-Thermostat-Electric-Baseboard-He...The Mysa. https://getmysa.com/It will probably do what you need for the time being.

What you get when you let a tenant paint is roller-marks of the wall color on the ceiling, drips and runs, patchy covering, spilled paint, silly accent walls/ too many colors, uneven lines on edges and in corners, splatters, blistering, bubbling, peeling, the wrong sheen, visible brush marks and roller strokes, trim painted the same color as the walls, electrical outlets and switches and even light fixtures, vents, cold air returns, fart fans etc. all painted when they shouldn’t be, not enough coats where paint actually should be, and terrible color choices (almost always too dark or too weird).

Find an agent that can help you find properties that you're looking for, they should introduce you to a lender that can get you pre-approved for a loan, if you can/learn to manage the property or get introduced to property managers, always ask about different contractors that you can use for different things like electric, plumbing, HVAC, kitchen/bathroom remodels.

, electric meter?

@Forrest BrownWeight in the factors of investing out of state with travel, time, and energy to invest. 

I'm looking to build a 2500 sq ft two level ecofriendly single-family home which incorporates natural surrounding into the design, I'm trying to figure out what my cost should be for architectural plans: elevation, floor plan, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, etc.  

Our ADU is separately metered for gas, electricity and water.