I would say your major challenge right now is being able to find someone who has enough free time during busy season to start that conversation with you and onboard you as a new client.  

That might make your rental noncompetitive after a major investment, especially in cold climate areas.

Charlotte is becoming an increasingly expensive area to buy in so I would imagine that the majority of places worth buying are probably too expensive to cashflow.

Typically, if people don't want to list on MLS during a seller's market, it means either the property is not likely to qualify for traditional financing, which could work in your favor, or they want more than the property is actually worth and can't find an agent to agree on a listing price, which could be a major barrier- you might try to see if you can find this info out.

I highly doubt NYC is the market for you, with that being said there are reasonable priced places within an hour of almost every major city.

I have a full time job with the DOD and am in college as an accounting major.

Are we talking a duplex on a majority SFR cul de sac, or a 10-unit building on a major street?

. $850/900 sounds in line with the majority of what I've been seeing.

What I’ve found in my target neighborhoods of Atlanta, is that the tenant will alert you to a small issue before it becomes a major issue.

Should I still gear myself toward SFR sales, or perhaps work with brokerages that deal with majority multi unit properties?