To "needacoolname". I am not a real estate agent... just an Average Joe who has been looking at the 30-A market for a while now. Try connecting with an experienced realtor down there who can help you even further with your rental property questions. My husband and I are looking to buy, the same as you, and rent the property out. If you find a home you are interested in, your realtor can pull a rental history report from the management company of the property. If it has never been in a rental program, your realtor can still have a management company pull rental history on neighboring homes to give you an idea of what that house might bring in. I'm also willing to bet your realtor can connect you with clients who are renting their property. If they are open to assisting you, they can give you a financial model to follow that will help you determine a worst and best case scenario for cash flow. It helps determine what you can stomach and truly what your buying range might be. This, of course, has nothing to do with pre-qual, etc., etc.. This is just what you personally can handle both financially and emotionally.
Just keep poking around. There are lots of ways you can go from a property management perspective. You'll find something that works for you. If you can handle the "worst case scenario", then changing from doing it yourself to even the most expensive management company won't be so stressful.
Good Luck !
Another note. I have called some VRBO'ers and just asked for a moment of their time. I have found them to be very helpful and willing to connect me to people down there (i.e. concierge's etc.). I literally just called the number on the site and bingo!
Just keep poking around. There are lots of ways you can go from a property management perspective. You'll find something that works for you. If you can handle the "worst case scenario", then changing from doing it yourself to even the most expensive management company won't be so stressful.
Good Luck !
Another note. I have called some VRBO'ers and just asked for a moment of their time. I have found them to be very helpful and willing to connect me to people down there (i.e. concierge's etc.). I literally just called the number on the site and bingo!