I would love to connect and frequently get up to the GR area. 

Be prepared to offer frequently if my very limited experience is any indication. 

As early as you possibly can, and as frequently as you possibly can, house-hack!

Local laws may differ, but frequently building codes will state 2 persons per bedroom, plus 1 person, which would mean 7 for your 3 bedroom unit (person can be adult or baby, makes no difference).You need to require them, at a minimum, to ALL provide updated applications with proof of income/savings.

Squatters' rights are not the actual law as frequently as people think they are. 

I have family in Barbados and travel there frequently.

One of the 2 houses on the lot had some fantastic characteristics that you wouldn't have known about unless scheduling a showing.

@Hazel Smith is a good contact person for Columbia, SC, market.I fly to South Carolina for my W2 job quite frequently, great market to invest.

I keep poking around looking into additional markets as we don't frequent Bend ourselves even though it is well within our normal travel distance.

In this structure you rent the home like normal but you give the renter "point" (kind of like Southwest Airlines frequent flyer miles) for every month that they pay on time and they can save these up and use them to buy the home -- same as cash -- if they want to.