I'm trying to determine whether or not to dive deep into new construction in the place.

First they do not have deep enough pockets to supplement their tenants rent (or don't want to) and second they are living off of the income. 

And without fail, every single dang one was deep DEEP in the red after taking ACCURATE measure of things.

My focus has been a deep dive into learning about different real estate investment strategies as part of diversifying my investments.

Lima one is local to you NC based but strong in the Deep south..

There are a couple people I would suggest you look into before digging too deep on finding landlords.

It's one of those markets where deep pockets win over investment savvy, unless you can carve out your own wholesale channel and get a deal per month to come your way on your own.I work on scaling strategies for my clients all the time. 

I am a business owner from Grand Rapids, MI with ~100 employees, and I have read several Robert Kiyossaki books, (increase your financial IQ, Cash flow Quadrant, Loopholes of Real estate and a couple more)  I am just ...

Then their profit.. so for a Turn key company to buy it back you would take probably a 25 to 35% hair cut on what you paid for it minimum.Buy and hold turnkey mid west deep south rust belt is a very long term play.. and most will tell you 10 is the minimum you need to get going.

But I was already knee deep in it and thus I pushed forward.