We would buy a house live in it for 2-3 years then on to the next and rent the old one out.

I’ve been around real estate for decades, and I read in The Economist once that in lively markets like Charlotte, folks will pay a premium for a comfortable room if you’re near major employers.A friend of mine tried something similar out in Austin a while back.. he’d inherited a 4-bedroom property and split it into individual room rentals.

You start by mentioning your age... you'd need everything to go just right for the rest of your life to make, best case, $400 or less additional each month net cash flow. 

I live in Matthews just a little south of Charlotte 

Even if all the numbers pencil out, if no one wants to live there, I'm going to have a hard time making the numbers work, whether I'm selling a flip or renting out a property. 

Live way below your means and save the majority of your income.

HELOC can be good for this situation - then you can pay it down and use it again for other life events etc. 

Quote from @Michael Smythe: Would only recommend on a Class A property in a city with major housing shortage.Then you are likely to get solid white-collar tenants that understand the living arrangement.Otherwise, you'll get transient type tenants that will be nothing but trouble.This was what I was concerned about. 

We live in central WA less than an hour from tourist towns of Leavenworth and Chelan.I'd like to connect with private money and hard money lenders, and wholesale investors.

I am familiar with the Akron market since I live directly next to it.