You usually need to lock up the deal and get a lot of those things done during the process.Buying near your son's college would be a great idea if you plan on having him house hack there and manage or learn or use one unit as short-term or mid-term for when you visit. 

again, maybe you find something on the MLS that is mispriced, and so it works, but i doubt you'd be able to move fast enough to lock it down, since you're so far away. 

My first thought was sell to lock in your tax free cap gain.

I've set a goal to have something locked in within the next 3 months!

Also, I know this status can sometimes trigger an audit.

I've been searching properties for a variety of ideas for almost two years now and never pulled the trigger.  

If you are going to go with secured mailboxes you will need to contact your local postal office and tell them you have two new boxes that you will need to get "Arrow" locks installed on.

I would be interested to hear from investors in areas like Arlington or Dallas proper where it has really locked down on STR regulations and hear how their transition to MTR has gone for them. 

I'm just exploring, gaining knowledge and conducting research before I pull the trigger on anything.

For example; young professional may trigger higher demand for smaller units.