I could be wrong, but it seems most old school retiring landlords own free and clear in my experience.

Welcome to the area, what a crazy coincidence to have someone from Brevard move here, I grew up in Asheville and went to high school in Hendersonville.I'm an investor here and VP of the local REIA, you should come by our meetings and introduce yourself. 

As far as expenses, I just use a simple Excel spreadsheet and an old school notebook to write down info about each house (if it's on well or septic, city water, which electric company, school districts, etc.).

I have undergrad degrees in History and Finance, so I have an unusual skill set.

However, I think its your work history that is having the lenders second guessing themselves.

So I don’t have any credit history yet.

Merely placing a sign does not make a difference.No more than a fake ID makes your eligible to drink while still in high school.

@Joshua McLean like @Daniel Kong said, private money would want to see a history of your experience in real estate and some up front money.

You need to use a service like Smart Move to check their credit, employment and eviction history.

Easy to evict , low taxes and a 6 Good Schools Rating.