If the condo was converted with a non-eviction plan then many of the sponsor owned units could be occupied by rent regulated tenants.

With the S-corp you pay yourself a salary of $X a year, and the rest stays with the S-corp.The problem with the S-corp is it is very burdensome with regard to reporting and other regulations.

My question is, with rising taxes, anti-landlord regulations, stagnant job growth, and people leaving the area, is it still a good idea to buy an investment property here?

You need to study your state specific landlord tenant regulations.

What you mention above about your lender doesn't jive with my understanding of the standard regulations.

If the book value of an asset is X and they sell it for Y, not only would they have to answer to their investors, they might have to answer to their regulators if they are disposing of assets at a discount just to clear their books, without a documented reason why (Like...Value may be "X" but, deferred maintenance equals "Z" so, discounting and selling for "Y").We aren't in the market we were from 08'-14' where this "strategy" may have been more acceptable.

You know the laws, regulations, & rules of American investments.

Yes you can do it but there is more regulation since the 08 crash so you need to check NC laws about how to do it properly.

Here is a book list for you:"Buying and Selling Apartment Buildings" by Steve Burges"Multifamily Millions" by Dave Lindahl"It's a While New Business" by Gene Trowbridge "How to Create Lifetime Cashflow by Buying Multifamily Properties" by Rod Khelif.To answer your question, LOI is your first step.

You would have to check out zoning regulations in your area,Where I am, I have to get a variance in addition to approvals if the area is not zoned for two.