Hearing of San Antonio vibrant lifestyle and diverse culture, I, Ben Aziz, moved here in 1998 and have been a resident ever since.

Diversity!

(I miss those days) So there is within this asset class its own set of diversity that really doesn't diverge too far from the core.

Both are good cash flow markets and have diverse economies and growing populations.

Ownership structures are also much more diverse.

Most diverse population in the Nation [Houston #1, NYC #2] L.A.

Then winnow areas with declining populations or high unemployment, and bump to the top of your list areas with the opposite- increasing populations, low unemployment, and areas with a diverse set of employers and a diverse set of industries.From the remaining areas, I'd add points for those to which you can commute easily(under 3 hours is great, over three hours is more problematic in case you need to make a few trips/year.)

In my area, there are some diverse markets. 

I would think the cash route might be better for a "newbie investor" since their overhead is ultimately lower and they don't have interest and all the other fees associated with a loan so if the first deal takes a little longer to complete it's not costing them a fortune in holding costs.However I also think that limits the ability to scale at a faster rate and I see the potential advantages in leveraging right from the start so you have more diversity and can start building up your investment portfolio quicker.

There are also diversity and race problems and attitudes that are holdovers from the 1950s.