I'm thinking a med student in a 3 year residency would be ideal. 

Because the zoning allows for a business or short-term rental and the location is ideal for both.

But, if these are all custom sizes i would say thats reasonable. 

Martin in any e-mail or text correspondence, and I don't correct this as it is a business relationship and the same way I correspond with other customers.

Our ideal property is single family home, ideally less than 20 years old (willing to budge if major upgrades we're made w/in 5 years, such as HVAC, roof, etc) within a 30 minute commute from uptown Charlotte.

Even though not ideal, it is best to offer his half back in exchange for him signing the lease cancellation.

I highly recommend @David Greene's first book "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" which puts action to the idea: live where you want to live, invest where the numbers make sense.I am active duty military as well, and I live in San Diego.

Ideally, if you already have contacts in one of the cities that you know better than others that is where I recommend starting out but it really just comes down to how good of a team you have in place. 

I have a great rehab estimation tool and get decent ballpark figures, but in the current market, a lot of the highly rated general contractors are fully booked and investors are last in the pecking order compared to retail customers or large developers.

Do this alongside a savvy tax and legal professional ideally.