The challenge is, I’m not familiar with the local market—or the Mississippi market in general.Does anyone have insight into the market in this area or know of investors interested in properties in western Mississippi?

Looking for guidance on options. new builds aren't hard to finance and I would argue they are preferred to existing fix and flip loans, especially if you have experience. banks look at your experience, your builder's experience, loan structure, permits, etc you need to get an experienced builder familiar with advanced underwriting and negotiations with local, regional, and national lenders. in columbus we do ground up construction for clients at a 20% discount so they can BRRRR out of the new build with equity and we have pages and pages of data on what we build and why and it's all supported by market statistics. 

I think there's still a lot of room in the country to do this successfully and where the locals can also benefit.

I work as an acquisitions associate with BPG Holdings, a local real estate investment fund in Alexandria, and also work as a realtor for our fund's brokerage team, assisting clients with investment properties in the D.C. metro area.I've recently created a series of reports focused on the city of Alexandria and its sub-market development prospects, which I believe alongside other macro trends will make the city an amazing buy-and-hold investment for real estate investors.

In my experience..from what I read in Forbes..it’s not unlike discovering a great local coffee spot: once you find one that nails the roast and atmosphere, you tell everyone who’ll listen.

I'm open to all suggestions regarding different cities that meet my requirements and would love to chat with some realtors who have local experience working with investors.  

Do you think First Insurance will, insure in a high fire risk locale? 

They want to hear from a local down the block, not a fake company.

While I did look into the PM, local market, and was able to visit the property after closing, it was not to the degree of how closely I looked into RTR. 

The book is useful for understanding how to structure deals, assess risks, and think like a lender, rather than just an investor.Pair this with engaging in forums like this one and attending local meetups to put what you learn into practice.