I think Strawberry Mansion has so much better scale for still room to grow neighborhoods there.

Keep an eye on rent growth trends and neighborhood developments, attend local real estate meetups, and connect with other investors through BiggerPockets forums and local Facebook groups.

Current State: Knowing the neighborhood(s) we target, and having driven them (regularly) I have a pretty decent list of "looks distressed" properties.

If they are truly a local firm you'll want to vet their experience thoroughly to verify that they have the depth of experience to handle what you're anticipating.

All other 2 beds in the neighborhood are renting for 1200+ so I know it's a fair price.  

Neighborhood. 

I used Mark's firm a couple of years ago on 4 tax lien foreclosures.

A duplex in the $100-200k range with a target CoC return of 8-12% is definitely within reach, especially in some of the emerging neighborhoods.In terms of areas, you might want to explore neighborhoods like Bagley, East English Village, and parts of Grandmont-Rosedale.

I planned to start small, a first deal <100K, and then scale in the neighborhood.

For them, the upside (rent growth and asset value) often outweighs the operational headaches tied to local regulations.Also, these larger firms often have the resources and legal teams to handle tenant issues that smaller investors might find challenging.