And we still see cash flowing deals here and lots of appreciation potential.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

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

They have an internalized system where instantly a person has thousands of potential end buyers for a "lead" coast to coast.

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.  

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

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

A good mentor will help you evaluate things and identify potential hurdles before they come into play.People fail because they think it's easy without understanding what the difficulties can be.

Maybe I am not familiar the practice in your area.

The property had significant upside potential as it was priced below market value and required mostly cosmetic updates.