A CPA can ensure proper filing of rental income on Schedule E and help identify tax-saving strategies, such as optimizing deductions for maintenance, repairs, and travel.

Grocery stores, day care centers, parks, restaurants, shopping malls, distance to downtown, major highways, etc.

We will shop for used appliances where we can when we need one… or pick up used cabinets if we can, or search eBay for something smaller,  but going to the extreme of personally shipping something big in internationally for one-off renovation needs seems like a stretch of reasonable.Just like you mention, the number of unknowns would not seem to be worth it to me.Just my 2 cents.Randy  

Sure, there's a little beach at the one lake, and the shops at Cashiers, but to me it's just not quite enough.

A single family could ultimately be a lower price point for you but depending on how much money you have available to spend on the purchase and any repairs/maintenance, either one could work.Have you found any SF or duplexes that catch your eye or know how much money you have to spend?

It was also difficult to assess the heating situation after repairs since tenant refused to provide key to access unit for repairs and/emergencies, citing “privacy and safety” concerns.

we just see new investors in the forums blown away when they hit their fix big capex - a new roof, a new furnace, a driveway repair, a couple appliances going at once. 

New construction properties can qualify for significant insurance discounts, but otherwise, I generally expect insurance in this area to run a little over 1% of the property’s value if it’s in decent condition.Feel free to DM me if you’d like a good insurance contact to shop around for a better rate.

Shop around for debt to see what is available and model the various structures to see how the different terms impact performance.The tradeoffs will be fixed vs. floating rate, conventional vs bridge vs CMBS vs bank vs agency. 

Quote from @Stuart Udis: My comment has nothing to do with comps and your decision to make the repair shouldn't be comp influenced either.