We ended up shifting that profit to a property, along with our capital from cashflow, in Rosemont that was an absolute opportunity.

Absolutely, tell them they cannot smoke in the laundry area and post signs.

Absolutely—but with better property management from the start.

Your point of most real estate has appreciated over time is absolutely correct! 

All those things can eat up the chemicals very quickly and lead to an unsanitary condition.3) Absolutely ZERO guests wants to hear that you did not drain clean and refill the hot tub after the prior guest.

You're absolutely right, creativity is essential to make deals work in this environment, and building from the ground up, especially in high-demand areas like Raleigh, can be a great solution.Your current project sounds like a smart move, particularly with the zoning for a duplex and ADUs.

You'll get taxed on the $200k, if you just buy the property for $300k you aren't reporting an absolute ton of income. 

@Michael Baum is absolutely right.

We don't believe you can automate property management--you're absolutely right the business is hyper-local and other factors you listed. 

While convenient, it’s not necessary to pay that much unless you want the hands-off approach.Since you’ve already set up an LLC before, you can absolutely do it yourself again.