I closed on my S8 rental on the 31 and they delayed giving me the HUD agent for the tenant, so the rent was sent to the previous owner. luckily, I had that in the contract just in case that happened.

A few additional things to consider between the two loan types: prepayment penalties, probability of closing, points/ fees.... and vesting (LLC or personal). 

There may be more as you go further out from Raleigh or into Durham - but these 3 stood out to me as being cheaper than or equivalent to rent while still being close enough to commute into Raleigh for work and fun.

I closed my first deal in August of 2021 & my second in October 2021.

If you buy close to downtown where it's very active, STR's could work great.

Closing costs are typically between 6K-10K in either scenario.  

Let's chat at your convenience - I'm also one of the 700 agents out of the same KW office, have fone 75+ buy-sell deals myself and closed 55+ transactions as an agent, 80% on the listing side.

It's somewhat close to Salvador but I think you could get better deals. 

I have a very investor-friendly contractor (who offers pay-at-close in addition to conventional), and good clients who would be open to unconventional sales.

Closed - Long term hold - 25 unit complex just outside of Seattle.