3) Any other differences in property taxes, tenant laws (I will be doing my due diligence here thoroughly as well), and investment sentiment between the two regions?

Personally I’m building a 3/2 1200 sq ft in Durham we plan to sell near the regional hospital at 425k which would be a good rental(mid or short).

They could, however, cost more up front than house hacking a single family home.Look into local programs in your region, speak with lenders, and utilize internet tools to locate down payment aid programs.

I really like the areas of Huntsville and nearby such as:  Guntersville, Athens, Albertville, Muscle Shoals and want to purchase my next property in this region. 

Would national/regional tenants be open to this?

Great Cap rates i believe the capital region is a goldmine and im boots onn the ground born and raised here.

Are you using big brokers or regional?

Of course, certain markets will be more effected than others.All the normal hot spots will likely see a larger decline than the more stable regions like mine in southwest Ohio.  

Here is our regional housing strategyhttps://www.morpc.org/rhs/

I'm an active investor in Macomb, IL, and am looking to expand into the surrounding regions.