When we bought our rentals in Las Vegas our Realtor had them do the updates and they were excellent and very reasonable.

I have chosen the Durham market (primarily for 2 reasons, I am tad bit familiar and also would like to own it as either a secondary home/rental property).The question that I have is, property taxes in Durham county are pretty high, roughly 1.3%, but I have been told by a property manager that the assessed value always comes up lower than the actual fair market price or the sale price (on a new home), and it's more in the tune of 1%.

Your normal business practice, correspondence with your professionals, actual rental, compelling reasons for the change in intent, etc. 

It’s not a reason not to buy.

I would guess she is actually looking for a place for her daughter to live and for that reason would reject her application.

@Kathie Riedel  I think others reading this will chuckle a bit, as I will of course answer your very reasonable question. 

There is a reason why corporate jobs are a guaranteed route to middle/upper-middle class.

Or are you bypassing your own back yard for some reason?

Consider that in your overall decision.The reason why I say to start small is because you can get real life experience from managing an SFR and discovering the joys and tribulations of owning one. 

It can be time consuming which often is the reason someone will pay a title company for the info.