We are looking in the larger cities and surrounding metro area of NC, SC, GA and TN!

It's great to be able to visit or travel to events in other cities without having to make a 9 hour drive.

I then look at the Google street view.I do all this to eliminate properties I wouldn't want then I drive by and look at every property that I might bid on.Do not bid on anything that you have not personally seen!

Also, if you do need to replace windows or doors, measure them to verify they are standard size that you can easily buy without having to special order all the windows and doors for the house as this will drive your costs up significantly (trust me).

@Mark Cruse I have a rental property in Brigantine which is a 5 min drive from AC.

Answers to these questions will drive a lot.

A website is good to drive traffic to.

If you want to stay local, certain areas of SA can be good for buy/hold rentals, and you'll only be 1.5 hours drive away.

. :)keep in mind that the same survey company laid out San Francisico and Portland in the late 1800s all the lots were 25/100 you drive through SF you will see that clearly.. same goes for almost any older city. 

Driving properties with distressed/add value opportunities and finding then reaching out to the sellers.Another way comes down to reaching out to as many Brokers in your area as you can and explicitly telling them the criteria you are looking for.