What I did when I was faced with a possible low-pressure situation in a new installation was put in a European-style system with a bar wall mount.

You could go an hour away to Rocky Mount or Fayetteville and find those deals, but that is nothing like the Raleigh/Durham area.

Give a look www.rockcreekhomebuilders.comOut of Rocky Mount not too gar away for a decent size reno...

Once the fee starts to mount they tenant really can do nothing other than walk from the debt.

I have properties in moncks corner, summerville and North Charleston however I think you can find turnkey or almost turnkey deals with 10-15% cash on cash returns all over this area including those above and Ladson, hanahan, goose creek, ridgeville (more difficult in the higher end parts of town like mount pleasant, james island, etc).

PS that's funny you're in Mount Vernon, NY because the duplex we are buying is in Mount Vernon, WA. 

Rocky Mount is the 21st largest city in NC, and the 824th largest in the US. 

Good quality curtain rods, properly and securely mounted, let Tenants provide their own curtains.

Normally this happens "automatically" when they are mounted in the window, but it's a good thing to check every couple of years, so they don't start dripping inside the house.If the unit ends up dripping somewhere you don't want it to, some units have a place you can connect a drain pipe/hose and move the drip over a few feet.

We meet at a different place in Rocky Mount on the third Wednesday of each month.