I think people will live in Meridianville/Harvest/Albertville/Athens before they'd move to Decatur.   

I just moved so that I could convert my primary residence into a rental.

I think another key to not getting involved with sub-par sponsors is to join a community of passive investors.

Sharing experiences, discussing local trends, and gaining local perspectives would be invaluable as I move forward with my investment goals.Additionally, if anyone has recommendations on how to find an agent who is experienced and comfortable working with international investors, I'd greatly appreciate that as well.Thanks in advance for any help and guidance!

We're occupying the house and plan to keep the property for 5-6y, after which we would either move and hold it or sell it.

This can be particularly appealing if the seller is facing financial difficulties, needs to move quickly (perhaps due to relocation, divorce, or other personal issues), or the property has little to no equity and they can't afford to sell it through traditional means without bringing money to the closing.

My (excellent ) tenant moved in 8 years ago, has never been late with the rent.

With all that being said, I'm hoping to start using sub contractors to handle the majority of my jobs moving forward, but I'm running into a small snag.The majority of the houses I'm buying right now I'm using hard money to fund.

@Eric KajkaTHanks for the post   1) your FIL  will have  approx 2-3%  of selling expenses  assuming there are no realtors involved ..assuming 600K sales price  and existing loan amount  he will likely  net   a bit under the  400K  needed for AZ house ...he  will also likely have  some  costs  involved  with moving and buying the  AZ home .   

You can only get the FMR listed on the HUD site if the tenant moving in has a voucher that meets that amount.