Investors in Charlotte?

[Sri Charan Yarlagadda]

I wanted to know whether purchasing a town-home in Bryant Park (Charlotte) has the possibility of being a good investment. Any feedback from professionals/people experienced in the real estate market would be appreciated.

The intent would be to purchase a 3 bedroom/2.5 bath (2 garage parking) town-home in uptown, live in it for 3-4 years and then attempt to rent it out. Price range of the town-home is $280k. 

Community Address:1939 Fleetwood Drive Charlotte, NC 28208

http://www.ryanhomes.com/find-your-home/our-commun...

Pros - These houses are close to Uptown Charlotte (1.5 miles from the bank of america stadium). Also, my work is just 4 miles from this location, so it works out.

Cons - this area has bad schools. The area is still developing and is known to be slightly shady.

A few of the initial questions I have are:

1) How is the rental market for town-homes in uptown Charlotte? Do you foresee it getting better or worse in the next 4-5 years? Will there be an over-supply of town-homes/condos in the future?

2) This area (Bryant Park) was known to be shady in the past and still is (slightly). Though crime rates seem to be decreasing, I'm still a little concerned. Would investing/living in this area be risky?

3) Assuming rent is $2000 (got it from comps), 1% property tax, 5% vacancy, CAP rate is 6%. If I loop in the mortgage and calculate net cash flow, it was around 160$ per month. Is that decent? Do I assume that the future market is going to go up to give me a bigger return in exchange ?

4) About a year ago, the same houses were selling for 180k and the prices are hiked due to supply-demand. Am I a little too late? Will the prices still go up?

5) If this is a bad idea, which other areas have the potential for better investments?