Utilities, taxes (property, local vacation, & income), landscaping, furnishing / decorations / amenities, pest control, & supplies (soap, TP, etc) are the big ones on my STR calculator that you didn't mention.I'd also recommend using the enemy method to determine expected income.

You said you checked the county website for the property tax records.

Prices are just to high relative to rents and incomes.

These products have no income, taxes, or personal liability limits tied to the loan.

I am a realtor myself so I can save on fees but my assumption is if I sell I end up somewhere with $200k that I would then need to pay capital gains taxes on. 

In the grand scheme of things, yes, you should eventually replace the windows so 1) They operate properly. 2) It doesn't turn away potential tenants or cause maintenance hassles when a new one moves in.3) Tenants have proper egress in case of an emergency (like fire).Now, windows are expensive, so you'll have to decide how much you're willing to spend, based on how much income the property is bringing in.

Maybe it's a bit more LA mentality, but I don't see someone from Garner to east and up to Wake Forest stomaching a 45 minute one way daily commute to where the higher income in-office jobs are located, which I'm leaning into for greater likelihood to afford rent now and increases later.

like what kind of surprises can we see with REO like backed taxes, association etc?

The tenants are low-income and may not have banks.

If so, would this allow me to deduct rental expenses below the amount of your rental income?