Figure out a question set that helps dive into their expertise as investor-friendly agents, ask about their experience in the investment real estate space, and have them send you a few properties that could meet your goals to show that they can provide quality properties for your to analyze (hint: this is also good to see if they overpromised on their market [ex - Raleigh for cash flow]).Also with the new lawsuit, any agent that knows what they're doing will require you to sign an agency agreement prior to viewing a home.

Leverage your existing equity to invest in smaller properties, such as a mixed-use or retail space, to gain experience and cash flow.

.Keep in mind that most illegals are / were given free housing in hotels, group homes and many families living in the same space.

I ended up getting around 9 deals under-contract, while constantly being pressured by my manager to get more deals under-contract or he would publicly mock us in front of everybody.

Your best bet is to ask for referrals from professionals in the space: realtors, other investors, this forum, FB groups, etc.

Even if the sponsor lacking knowledge and experience can raise capital through syndication, their life will become a living nightmare of lawsuits, hostile social media posts, public ridicule, accusations, legal threats.  

A few public projects have cleaned this up but the area has never prospered since.

How big is the space they are renting? 

Also, not very easy to use typical methods of valuation like comparable sales - there is no public tax assessor's website that you can just freely grab this from. 

I see you are in the State of Georgia and it is a great place to invest.I’ve been in this space for a long time, coaching and investing, and I love helping people get started.