I also think people are looking to commute less with their kids, especially in elementary school and therefore want the local elementary school to be good enough.

Ensure the property’s price aligns with market trends, and work with a local realtor to help with due diligence and negotiation.Good luck!

Johnny, sometimes the best lenders aren’t local.

It is just like law firms from NYC have a full team vs local independent lawyers have a one-man army or a very small team.

Are you focusing your efforts in/around your local market?

Hi Daniel, Columbus GA has properties much lower in price than the metro Atlanta area, you should do fine to learn your local market.

Attend local real estate investor (REI) meetings and get to know people.

There are so many local ordinances that can get confusing.  

I’ll obviously contact a local attorney but any advice or suggestions would be helpful.  

That being said, your typical cost of capital is as follows:EquityAgency debtBalance Sheet local lenderDebt FundPrivate DebtPref EquityHard Money DebtBookie/Loan SharkOther things that will impact capital sources: are you wanting to finance the improvements, or will you pay for those from equity/cash flow?