With houses sitting on the market longer, I am thinking of offering the house as a short term rental until it sells.

I vote against the incumbent everytime when I vote if they've been there more than 2 terms.  

Initiate from somewhere small then let it grow—in terms of experience one may have something like house hacking in mind for a beginning.

My long term goals are to own LTR’s and use the BRRR method.

If you are finding it difficult to find cash flowing property, try looking into short term rental possibility (Airbnb).

A rent by the room or roommate strategy is great for expensive markets, making it more of an equity and cost reduction play for the long term.

-Homes that aren't falling apart/need major rehab on the property-Prices in six figures overall not seven figuresWhat 2-3 cities should I really pinpoint in terms of the Zillow map to get an idea of some great options?

The Short Term Shop offers free AirDNA for it's markets.

Depending on the deal, I would not shy away from either neighborhood.It's also a great spot for mid-term rental with the Sentara campus right there. 

Hello, Long term I want to get into rentals, but I'm looking at different deals to flip for my first few properties.