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"North Carolina has increasing supply, so rents are falling today.  

When the cat leaves, the mice will play".Most folks that invest out of state are cat's that are never present.So the realtors, contractors and property manager (The mice), are always playing and making a fortune doing so.You really need to spend a lot of time in establishing the right relationships in order to make it work from afar.Picking a market, visiting it regularly and immersing yourself in it non stop.Having family can also help but I decided a long time ago to not mix business with family and friends as it can get heart breaking when things don't turn out well.Wishing you much success

They both understate the amount and regularity of costs.

The 'what you get' for the money factor is highly applicable from Brookings to Astoria and licensable STR coastal vacation rentals are still regularly attainable at workable terms, Luxury and oceanfront and lakefront properties tend to perform above the 10% of valuation in gross annual income for prime coastal STR's and as an example I've seen a $2.1 Million Oceanfront home produce $300k in gross annual income.

He is the mobile home flipping god for So Cal and he regularly speaks at RE meet ups.  

If he's a vet, I'm sure there are resources he has access to that others don't, in addition to the regular places for support (eg local church). 

I don't think I can ask the renters to irrigate the lawn regularly?

Thats more like a temperature check on how optimistic everyone feels right now.Any long term prognosis can only rely on supply and demand projections.

I'll send you my regular email.