She lives outside of Charleston SC and wants something more local so that is why I started looking there and realized that there are many apartment buildings for sale in those states that look to be decent deals... at least much better deals than in NE. 

I would try to avoid Berkeley and Oakland because the laws heavily favor tenants and who knows what local regulations could be passed. 

Your local S8 Housing Commission should have an info sheet on their website that shows their deductions if landlord chooses not to include electric, gas & water.Even more critical, your $680 mortgage amount, that you appear to be comparing to the S8 rent, should include ALL the other housing ownership costs: property taxes, insurance, vacancy/tenant nonperformance (S8 tenant may have to pay part of rent), maintenance & miscellaneous.Suggest you use the BP Calculator for this.

Local guy who some other investors use. 8. 

Renter may break contract early with $5,000 penalty and 30 days noticeAdditional context: Hawaii is a hard market for locals and first time homeowners to enter.

The agent herself was not local and this was a low prices listing she wasn't thrilled about working.

A very good source of local analysis is rereport.com

Historically an excellent place to start your mortgage search for 5-20+ unit properties is a local credit union.

Is it essential to have a local lawyer to set up the trust correctly?

Sometimes finding small, local partners to do your own thing and do it your way and under your control can be a great way to go that has more accountability built in.