After a long absence BP due to health issues I am dipping my toes in the hard money lending business again.

Why are you asking for any market as a new investor when you should be looking closest to you that matches the money you have to invest?

The way you affect your net worth in this instance doesn't matter (i.e. you borrow $80 and spend $20 in cash or you spend $100 in cash to buy a $100 asset has a net zero effect on your net worth).What matters is the price you pay versus the 'value'.

Value report has just been released and it’s full of good information for those thinking about a minor or major home improvement project in the future.Exterior projects continue to cost homeowners far less than they’ll spend inside and yield the highest rate of return upon selling.

In addition, it is remarkable what people will spend for accountability groups.  

Especially for a rental, unless there’s structural signs of major shifting or an engineering report on recent changes to the foundation I question if you really need to spend money on that.  

If you have people in Florida that you trust with your money and have proven themselves to you, that's what matters most.

I've already done quite a bit of research in my area and can already pretty much tell you what a property is worth or at least generally what it will sell for as I spend about 3 hours a day looking at properties and have been doing that for about a year to make sure I'm prepared on the accuracy side of things.I do have a family member that is a real estate agent in the area, but I'm not sure if a standard single family residential agent is the correct connection for multifamily.

When you can sell a 43608 and buy 75% of a 43612 with 75% of the income but enjoy a higher class of residents with double the rental demand it's a solid strategy.I wouldn't say 43608 (or 43605 / 43609 and a few others) doesn't make money...it's that your portfolio of ten properties runs about a 40% chance of any property being rented for 8 months, requires an eviction and full rehab (the bane of realized income).

Look for a market that works for your time, money, energy that moves you closer to your goal of why you are investing in real estate.