I see two homes I might jump on  but the area has some "rough" patches. can you recommend a property manager? 

I think a big missing piece from the puzzle is where are you at personally with your income. 

If not, we would just hold and rent the Mooresville house.I’ve been watching the trends on Zillow over some time now and it seems to me that the 1% rule is a thing of the past, like I just missed that boat.

Am I missing something obvious?

I do not want to jump on the single because of the time frame and then the right multi fam come up, but I also do not want to miss my opportunity and be forced to continue renting even if its month to month I'd also like to ask you all for any pointers, suggestions, tips & tricks you might offer someone just getting started and working to grow their portfolio.

You could get a huge equity bump in year 2 or 3 if things go as expected.Here is the thing that most people are missing out there. 

Been with them 8 years, they've never missed a payment and they give detailed quarterly status reports. 

and get any missing info sent to you in writing. 

regardless, I ended up with all the packages, so none are missing.   

Am I missing something?