I have $50,000 left over from my house flip that I can use for my next deal.Any advice from other investors, especially ones local to the area, on how to best leverage my $50,000 in order to achieve my goals would be greatly appreciated! 

Would be nice to know a local GC here in the Tampa area that's seasoned in that kind of a task!

In 2022 the rents increased 12.1% year over year which was the 3rd highest in the entire country per https://www.axios.com/local/cleveland/2023/02/14/cleveland-r...

Plus, given where rates are right now, I genuinely believe we're at or near a local peak.I expect rates will head lower soon, maybe revisiting 6% in the coming months.

You might be able to find a local lender near you and meet them in person as well. 

Building a strong local team is crucial too.

The locations I am looking at (suburbs reasonably far from downtown and the Tech Center) have seen 3 total transactions in the last year.

I know 3 that write them locally in DFW...and only one of those will do it state wide.

The city also seems to have many improvement plans in place to make the area more walkable and safer for citizens to freely navigate the downtown area and support local business.

If your lease has that clause (and assuming your local laws permit), consider notifying your PM of you intent to escrow your rent payments until the situation has been corrected.