They definitely are running a tight ship.

The rental market there is so tight no one want to loose a lease so they don't bug you with stupid ****.   

So I am buying my first house here in Charlotte and plan to provide a basic fix-up over my first year, renovate the detached garage that's been converted to an apartment already, rent that out while I continue on the ...

You're going to want to do a 1031 exchange because otherwise you'll end up paying a whole heap in taxes that could otherwise go towards your new purchases.But to go into the relatively tight timelines of a 1031 exchange with half the country being your target market is a recipe for disaster. 

Those numbers are way too tight so I would keep looking for a better deal. 

So to hold tight with your investments and ride out any low times.

A rental built to lastCons for New:  Expensive ($60-$90k PLUS transport, set-up and probably perm foundation) payoff in 15-20 yrs, ~1.25% rule In what I am thinking, both new and old would require transport and set-up with rural utilities; existing properties come available from time to time but the market here is pretty tight; nice 10-15 year-old DW's on 2 ac+ routinely go for $125-$150+ around here.BTW:  There are no $20k single-wides on land that need $2000 to be rent-ready around here....Thoughts?

Underwrite your deals tight.

Are my numbers too tight or is everybody doing off market deals and leaving those overpriced to sit on the web?

Personally, this deal seems too tight.