I’m still figuring out where opportunities are / will be and consume a wide variety of materials.

The market already has appreciated and rents have drastically increased nation wide. 

Working with a Broker who represents a wide variety of lenders will allow your Broker to find a lending partner that fits your situation.

Every state has their own laws, court procedures and legal forms pertaining to how decedent's estate are handled, including creditors and heirs.The rules vary widely, however you ought to decide if you are looking to buy the asset (real estate) from the person in charge or the interest of heir(s).Generally speaking, you'll probably want to buy the real estate, so you'll be looking to contact the person who will be able to sell it to you, typically called administrator, or if named in the will, executor, or by the generic term, personal representative.So, I suggest you ask the clerk at your probate court which document will contain the name and address of the person in charge.

I don't know too much about North Charleston and Summerville specifically but investing in real estate has been challenging country-wide since rates went up. 

Along with property management this approach is widely used in industries including accounting, legal etc. where it’s common for the professional service providers to work with clients who are consistently adding new entities/properties to their portfolios.

I also look widely for HELOCs for my own rental portfolio and am not seeing danger signs there, either, defined by me as lenders cutting off lines or no longer extending lines. 

AshleyNormal, however you have wide latitude in the actual agreement you agree to sign, how long, how much commission, that’s not to see individual agents have to agree to your terms, but if you feel uncomfortable with the terms you are free to negotiate or shop around, however an agent cannot legally show you a house without an signed agreement of some sort. 

Tenant rights across the country vary widely.

To your point that the data needed to find properties these days is widely available...