The question is alternative use of equity compared to current use.  7.

How do current rental yields in these areas compare to other neighborhoods in Atlanta?

Than I compare those, and I pick one.

I believe the prices are lower there compared to Bentonville because of this reputation.

Bigger markets do offer more data and comparables, which can make your initial analysis easier.

Still, you may try evaluating a different east coast market and seeing if you're liking more of what you see down here compared to NYC/Newark.

I'd also recommend checking out the Market Finder tool (biggerpockets.com/markets) for a quick way to compare markets and narrow your search to a few top-performing areas. 

Do you know any reliable Property Management in the Columbus area that can help out of state investors?

We don’t know any PMCs to recommend in the area mentioned, but since selecting the wrong PMC is usually more harmful than selecting a bad tenant, you might want to read our series about “How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant”:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/3094/91877-how-to-screen-a-pmc-better-than-a-tenant-part-1-services-and-processesWe recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

I think that compared to 10 years ago, the financing is more aggressive, and there is more competition.