Either way, the deduction of that interest ends up being a refund to me every year and gets put back into my pocket.

The way to get around this is to end the lease at 12 months, then start a new 12 month lease.This is a PA court decision.

I live in the Daytona Beach area & finding something turnkey for sale that will cash flow is very difficult, the prices are still too high.

My initial idea was 10-20% down with 7% interest rate for 10 or 15 years after doing research. 1 person suggested a balloon at the end and another person advised against it. 

Ultimately I do not want to be over leveraged, stuck paying a high mortgage for extended time, or live in a home that needs work I can’t fund what are your thoughts and recommendations for how I should structure my first purchase?

I am more in my BRRR phase so lower purchase price with a decent fix it but I would safely say prob still 70-80k loan price total.I have also been paying $885 - $1,000 for appraisals which just seems very high to me. 

Here’s how you can evaluate the investment potential in this area and ensure it aligns with your goals:Local Market Research: Since these are new homes and there isn’t much inventory for 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom properties, you could benefit from a high demand and low supply situation.

All this to say that you should work with detail-oriented experts if you really want to go down this route, because it's easy to get a little sloppy and end up with a much bigger tax bill than you expected. 

I have a SFR close to Wake Med that is nearing lease end and am all ears.

Take a look at areas such as Burlington, Mebane and Graham (Alamance), and Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem (Triad).