I do showings during an open house, advertise an hour window and anyone that wants to see it can swing in.I also would start with zillow rental manager and set up a separate gmail account for the property to link to the zillow account. 

Start by reading the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides/ultimate-real-estate-investing-guide/introduction2.

Before getting into real estate, I dabbled in Information Technology where the concept of open source software runs strong.

Since your in a Townhome I would suggest start looking for a MFH 2-4 unit to move into and you only need 5% down payment. 

STRs are saturated here and failed STRs are starting to saturate the MTR space. 

I am just getting started in real estate investing and have not bought my first property yet.

Hi,As the title suggests I’m a newbie looking for advice on getting started in the WNC (Asheville) area or eastern Tennessee area.

Start by reading the Ultimate Real Estate Investing Guide: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides/ultimate-real-estate-investing-guide/introduction2.

Is there a way to start your real estate portfolio or a business without having collateral or mixing personal finance’s?

Here is a reason to go STR to start, then flip to something else.