@Matt Castle Giles and Montgomery counties are preferred, but I'm open to branching out into Radford, Pulaski, or Bland.

Keeping your mind open is one of the best practices in life.Having said that,  I find myself always questioning interesting points and theorizing on real estate success. 

I am open to any advice or pointers here.

Why did I open this thread?

I have been researching for several months now and have established that our initial target will be single family homes, but we're also open to considering a duplex if the opportunity presents itself.

Interest rates and terms are pretty open as long as local or state laws are not violated.

As part of market research for long distance investing knowing where new stores are opening and new developments will be would seem to be a good strategy to know which areas are up and coming. 

Look up their online reviews, what area they specialize etc... in most states you need to work under the supervision of a Broker for a specified time frame before you can take your brokers exam and open your own brokerage

They did a lot of leg work and even helped me open an LLC within 48-hours.

@Lulu Goodie You have both  options open HELOC or cash out.