I’ll be reaching out shortly!

Both are super quick trips by flight, and not too long by car if you're on a budget or need to leave on short notice.Another option may be further east if you have friends and family in the area ("boots on the ground") that can keep eyes on the property for you, meet contractors, property managers, etc. for you.Or if you're a pretty savvy investor, feel free to buy wherever you like, but don't get stuck in the trap of analysis paralysis.

Life is short...start telling yourself a different story about your abilities and opportunities. 

I lurked for quite a while, but it was time to take the next move and join a large network of people with experience to learn from, diverse backgrounds, and similar financial interests.I am a moderate DIY’er and purchased my first home for $12,000 as a short sale (it was once offered for $3,000).

If we live in the home while fixing it up and sell, what percentage would we have to pay to SC for short term capital gain?

The woman fell in love with the house as soon as she walked in, but her pre approval fell well short of my listing price.She asked if she can buy the house at the less than asking price and then send me monthly payments until she hits my original listing price.I would love any advice if anyone has experienced anything similar to this situation. 

If your property is zoned to allow an ADU (and this is a big IF), then ask about regulations for short term rentals. 

This means, once the property does have enough equity, you can still refi then.2 - The loan is usually very short, so this may not work as a long term rental, but ...

However, it does not always make financial sense to empty and gut the building to carry out a deep retrofit (and even when it does, that initial whooshing roar of capital flying out of your bank account can be unsettling).As of late, we have been purchasing rather, to very, unloved buildings with plans to (eventually) perform deep retrofits on many of them {where the increase in the property performance will pay-back the investment in a relatively short period (say 3 - 6 years) versus the planned hold duration (i.e. 20yrs).   

We use to own and manage 4 short term rentals in Phoenix and know the amount of effort it takes to operate it successfully.