I'm listening to and reading everything I can get my hands on.

I've already had a handful of posts and great replies from local Minneapolis investors and others from out of state. 

On the other hand, when you have $0 invested ANY return is infinite.

I really want to go after the 203k option, so I am asking the group for first hand experience stories with either loan option to see if its worth pursuing.

Aside from that, my reasons for choosing Charlotte were that :It has a strong economy with a variety of industries & a growing tech sceneThe avg rent-to-income in Charlotte is around 27%, which makes it pretty affordable for tenantsThe rent to home price ratio was relatively high (2% rule, though it looks like it may need to be more of a 1% rule, as with other places)It's generally safe, with crime trending downward over the last 10 yrsNet inbound migration was highHome appreciation was up, but not ridiculously so like some other markets (like my home state in CO)It's near to several other potentially attractive markets if Charlotte _didn't_ work out for us, like Raleigh, Nashville.All these factors lead me to believe Charlotte is going to be a good place to acquire buy & hold rental properties and try my hand at a new business.

By then, the bill wouldn't also be inflated passing through the hands of the management company and it's contractor which you have no control over.

I wouldn't be posing this question if I lived in Phoenix, as I could easily be more hands-on with the process of buying and managing, and would even be interested in acquiring property that needed work done on it to add value. 

Matt Jones - Agreed, my BIGGEST fear is needing someone to hold my hand and lead me to my first deal.

So here I am, next door thinking of the possibility of taking it off the owners hands for a decent price, rehabbing it and house hacking it until I PCS (I'm in the Airforce) but of course I know its a long shot.

She is open to a "blended situation" whereby as we start to travel, we hand over more and more "ground time" at a vastly reduced rate.