Hi Emily,I only do commercial real estate and multifamily.There are 20 plus counties in the Atlanta MSA area.I would do research on the different counties for demographics, median income, diversity percentages, education levels, etc. and then narrow down to a few counties.I would then contact investor agents there who have the deep networks that have some off market properties if there are no MLS opportunities or inventory.

Pick a strong market (job growth and industry diversity - among other things)2.

I am trying to learn this diverse market but its not as simple as Ohio was.

My suggestion is to build your base of colleagues so you have a diverse portfolio to run ideas off of.

This especially true on this site, because the people here share a common interest, real estate investing, and have a diversity of good ideas and information to share. 

Toledo is very diverse in home prices that's for sure, from block to block prices can take a huge jump!!!

Its interesting to see such a diverse opinion on the topic.

Biggerpockets community is truly awesome through their diversity (buy and hold, wholesalers, bird dogs, commerce, developers, flippers, agents, etc).

This is why I love BP...the people on here come from such diverse backgrounds, but all with a central theme and all are looking to help each other succeed and avoid problems.

@Tim Chasteen Things I would look for are overall market trends:+Positive population growth +Strong economics(jobs) +Employment diversity +Government support for local companies through tax incentives + Strong government representative +Crime rates Things like that to get the big picture elements.