But basically, I feel that it's going to be cutting it really close.

@John Thomson the answer is, in the very basic 'big picture' (skip to last paragraph for small picture), the numerical 'volume' of net migration to your area.

But do keep in mind Charleston is basically a world class destination so 4 to 5 caps are the norm

You basically need a 620 Credit score with a 5% down payment to do a primary.

As a starting guide for markets, here's an older BP blog that has some basic considerations:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/2012/12/22/out-of-state-real-estate-investing/I'd also highly suggest David Greene's book on Long-Distance Real Estate Investing: https://www.biggerpockets.com/store

I spoke with my lender who got me my original mortgage and asked if this would be a possibility and he basically said no because I don't make enough money anymore, so this is the reason why HML would be my second option [I was working full time when I got my first mortgage, then I had a baby and was a SAHM for 8 months and have been working only 2 days a week since October]Any advice?

Thanks in advance.This may seem fairly elementary and I apologize if I'm reverting to something way too basic, but for the most part, your rentals will be reported on a cash basis. 

At this stage of my search, I feel like I'd basically giving a forward pass to another agent to collect a commission in the next few months since I've already done a ton of research and I know I'm going to buy something by summertime.

So it is basically the equivalent of paying cash for the property (similar to a down payment, I suppose, which doesn't seem bad when you look at it that way).But it will take a long while for this property to "break even": only when the balance of the loan falls to about 16,600 does the 250 rent income after expenses cover it fully.

Basically you need to know ADR and Occupancy rate which you can get from companies like Airdna or just good old fashion manual research on VRBO/Airbnb/Homeaway.