What seems most attractive for now seems to be multi-family markets starting out and eventually moving into 5-20 unit properties for growth. 

You need to have the ability to contact previous landlord to verify previous rental history.

Your ability to qualify depends on income, credit, and lender requirements, but leveraging your equity makes your request more feasible.

Be skeptical of the developer's claims, as your property's value likely won't see substantial growth until the entire development is completed and sold, which could take several years.

Business Growth: As I’m focusing on multifamily, industrial, and retail assets, any advice on how to position my company to stand out in a competitive market?

If you want to grow, the next four years are the time to do it.

I do have some investment experience and I'm currently managing 1 property, all the numbers are great and there's a good amount of cash flow and long term growth so I'm not a total green horn. 

When looking at properties in other cities, I usually start by researching market trends like price-to-rent ratios, crime rates, and growth potential.

A lot of my out of state real estate clients really like this market because the macroeconomics look so good for this market - population is growing, job growth is growing, and so many companies moving and developing here.

My piece of advice would be to research emerging neighborhoods and focus on areas with strong job growth and infrastructure development.