., Smyrna, Decatur, Marietta), new construction or turnkey rentals for lower maintenance, or small multifamily properties for stability.

You will hear about west side vs east side, while what is told is true, what is not mentioned is lower class areas are block by block. 

Diversification into multifamily also lowers risk compared to a single rental, as vacancies won’t affect your income as drastically.3.

And talking with my leasing team, the properties that are moving quicker are on the lower end of the rental range $1450-1600.

Would that lower our tax liability from other income we receive or no because this is purely RE and not an operating business?

Contrary to most business lending, the REI industry has a lot of "non-bank" lenders that provide attractive loans that can lower your cost of capital and improve your profit/cash flow. 

.$300k mortgage at 7.25% (30-year): $2,046$300k mortgage at 7.6% (40-year): $1,996Technically, it lowers the monthly, but not by much once factoring in the rate adjustment.

I'd focus on deciding what you want to do (flip-high risk, but potentially high return...or large loss; short term rental-more work, but higher return than long term rental; long term rental-less work than the other two, but lower return).Once you've decided which you want to do, then focus on getting the best house to meet your goal. 

Sherman does seem interesting though because of the lower cost and growth potential.  

New Britain is where you are going to get the best ROI like you mentioned and this is because as a whole there are more areas within the city where qualified tenants are looking to live and the purchase prices are lower while still maintaining competitive rents.