Read up on FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) to find out why your simple response to the tenant is inadequate. 

We could potentially move to Charlotte for a couple years and house hack, while we establish ourselves and build a local team before moving on to Asheville.I would love to hear from some local investors in Charlotte on any or all of the items below:What is your opinion of the market?

@Crystal Smith HUD properties will indicate whether it is owner occupied or all bidders allowed.

By that time, hopefully the renters will have paid for much or all of your investment.  

In my leases, there is a standard statement that reads     "There are no oral agreements between Landlord and Tenant."

If so, when they move out, discuss keeping some or all of it to clean the unit. 

Sounds like you were desperate to get work.You never pay "your" crew before they work.You could have avoided much or all of this with a good construction contract, including fees for delays and stop  work gaps. 

I STRONGLY suggest you get a partner, consultant, mentor (or all of the above) to see this project through. 

,I see a lot of listed properties that have one or more utilities in common.There was one in Caldwell that had Electricity shared between 2 units, and a lot of them have either water or gas shared between one or all units.Anyone have any experience in separating out utilities(Electricity OR Water OR Gas)?

I'm less familiar with all the details to this, but if you structure this properly you can continue to defer some or all of the capital gains tax, and just collect interest payments from the buyer.