Many people opted to stay in their current homes rather than take on new leases, contributing to longer vacancies for available properties.3.

Strategies that use hope, is how people get burned, bad. 

NC is a great market for your goals, however it will be challenging to find inventory that has much cash flow; many people who toss money into multifamily here do it to avoid the tax bill + take the 10 year runway of growth.How much SHF RE do you currently have?

Does anyone have any advice for people starting out in this competitive field?

For most people, they would be better off investing in a syndication or even a REIT. 

You should find a lot of resources on BP but I think the most useful people to talk to would be MF builders and local officials in your target areas.

All of those people also get credit/background checks. 

Why do I need to tell people where to go and eat when they have Google and Yelp?

At least I assume you are an expert on OH so you’ll do better than the people who are already investing there.

I tell people the harder it is to zone your project, the less chance a competitor will come nearby.