Upon lease signing I show them how it is to be done, the correct size and where to buy and provide them 3 filters (1 newly installed and 2 spares) and say please change every 3 months.I have it built into my lease that if this is not done landlord may purchase and bill tenant.I have never had an issue with this in the past...best regards,Chris

Lord willing my interests in the area are spared this year as they were last year.Before answering the SF vs Swansboro question, I need to point out- as has been stated elsewhere- that the criteria to purchase a primary residence is often different than the criteria to purchase an income property.

I moved out here to join the team at a fun local startup called TurboTenant and I'm pretty excited - to quote a bumpersticker from my commute this morning: "I'm not a native... but I got here as fast as I could" I would love hellos, hiking ideas, FOCO house hunting advice, knock-knock jokes and lots of BiggerPockets tips if you have any to spare.

Having a useful Credit Card withdrawal limit is as good as having your Hard Money Lender in your pocket - but of course I do agree that Credit Cards should only be used (sparingly) by people who don't normally need them!

Let's assume you can do that for free, or just some spare coins from the couch.

I wanted to get a sense of how strong the rental market is for spare bedrooms in this area and if anyone has had any experience house hacking in this area.

If required I could possibly stick a stove or something in a spare room and say that is the kitchen for one of the duplex sides if needed.

Just buy a house with the spare 100k you have lying around. 

The appreciation comes with rehab work and I work W2, so not much time to spare unless numbers make sense and have a good reno team in place.  

The problem is I see very little comp activity in that area.