I found a contractor that was on the list of vendors for one of the Bigger Pockets realtors. 

I recently started working in the private hard money area of Real Estate.Currently I work with a hard money lender based out of LA and we focus on mortgages, commercial, and anything business purpose related.

Love your post and congrats on the 8 doors already. 

-Are there legal restrictions on this in NC, such as the length of the option?

Hi Michael,Welcome to the community- There are a lot of good professionals and resources here on bigger pockets to learn and grow. 

This team consists of an Investor Focused Agent, Lender, Contractor, and PM.Read this article on the "core 4".

Any thoughts on a transaction like that?

Especially for your first investment, it is a great idea to at least be close by to check in on it and make sure everything's going smoothly!!

We relocated to Central Florida about 5 years ago to focus on the Disney/Orlando STR market.

Before focusing on out-of-state options, you may want to survey your backyard a bit.