For first-time investors, neighborhoods like Riverside, Murray Hill, and North Jacksonville could be good places to start, offering strong rental demand and potential for growing neighborhoods.

Dallas on the other hand has more growth potential in certain markets in my opinion.

Property Valuation:Investors look at a variety of factors to determine a property’s value, including comparable sales (comps), rental income potential, and location.

Since you’re committed to staying close to family, I’d suggest focusing on properties that might need a little work but have potential for appreciation in your market.

I am foreseeing a bit of a push back or even turned-off potentially decent tenants by the $50/pp screening fee, mostly for a family of 4 ($200 out of pocket).I was wondering if offering a credit of either 50% or the full 100% of the screening costs from the first or second month's rent is a good idea.Thought?

Buy at a discount given the lack of building potential and can always pass that discount along when I sell.2.

It has so much potential.

Also, good call on the potential rent control- I will research that a bit further. 

We are willing to provide additional documentation to support our request and discuss any potential steps to ensure a smooth and fair process for all parties involved.Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Besides the higher down payments, higher interest rates, and potentially shorter terms on commercial loans (all easy to underwrite with a couple calls to lenders), commercial deals in the 5-20 unit range are not much different than a 4 unit.