They may be regulated, they maybe aren't.A Credit Union is a good choice for funding.

This city continues to grow and evolve, making it a strong choice for real estate investment.

Isnt it sufficient using apps like Stessa or Avail or Rentprep etc etc?

If it's not feasible due to circumstances I suppose I'll have to adjust my situation (find weekend job, move back to NJ with parents, move to a different state with, etc.)All responses are appreciated, and I am absolutely open to chatting on the phone by the way.My view on house hacking is it can be a great tool to buy a house you could not  otherwise afford, but it shouldn’t be a goal in it of itself if that makes sense and that’s not to discourage you from investing just there are alternatives such as the stock market. so I’d start by asking where you want to live, do you want to own a single family home or does it make more sense to rent in a more interesting neighborhood like Arlington, Alexandria, that’s gonna be a personal choice, Will your monthly payment actually be less than renting/how many people do you need to get in the house to afford that?

A 1031 exchange is a smart choice for your parents, reducing immediate taxes to $70K (capital gains on $300K boot + $25K depreciation recapture) versus $148K without it.

Smoky Mountains seems to be a solid choice but I wonder about oversaturation and competition in that area?  

The water heater and furnaces are all in the basement so it looks like I don't have much choice.

But I have 0 empathy to pay for someone's CHOICE of not having there stuff insured. 

@Joshua Lanzieri when renovating older properties there are almost always negative surprises.Go watch any HGTV renovation show and most of them will have this as a cliff-hanger, forcing the choice of either going over budget or cutting back elsewhere.10% overruns happen often, but 50% is NOT acceptable!

If rents don't increase faster than inflation, you won't have sufficient funds to cope with rising costs.