These small outskirt cities may develop excellent school districts(like cary in NC) but the industry growth plus school is rare.

You don't need to, especially on deals that just make sense, but it's a good inclusion if you already have your underwriting model in Excel or gSheets because you can use all those variables, once filled out, to auto-populate various Sensitivity/Stability Analysis charts.Here's what I have for Multifamily/Rentals (all auto-populated from the model):On Fix & Flips, I only include the ARV Stability/Sensitivity Chart (this is the entire model, stability analysis at the bottom):Since having these built out, it's something I mostly just glance at after underwriting to make sure everything looks good.

idk.Correct me if I'm wrong, I keep hearing about biggerpockets.com/insights on multiple videos and podcasts - and I thought it was a database of information you can sift through, sort, etc. similar to the excel sheet in the appreciation  vs. cash flow, but now that I've searched through the site it's just BP PRO blog articles?

It is an Excel spreadsheet. 

Any and all suggestions would be excellent!

Excellent.

An excel spreadsheet is going to be your best friend (well that and a crystal ball).  

So most folks get sucked into some fake lender thinking they are going to get 6% money or start going through the Broker daisy chains etc etc its a lot work.. granted there are a number of excellent HML that work fast out there for sure.. but there are a lot more that run from total fakes to just want to get your deposit money upfront then come up with 50 reasons not to fund your deal..

In my very bias opinion, Bloomington/Normal is an excellent market to invest in.

.- Plano: A bit more expensive but offers excellent schools and a strong job market. 2.