Read David Greene's Pillars Of Wealth!

My rule of thumb is that to invest in a MTR in the area I need to have at least 3 pillars of demand.

The buyer only pays interest so it's all straight profit while your underlying loan is amortized and reducing over time (another pillar of profit). 

The three pillars that qualify a DSCR loan, your credit score, loan to value, and the DSCR score ( gross rent / PITI(a)) - getting preapproved should be no problem as long as you have enough down payment, usually 20%, closing costs, and reserves. .

There is no other way to learn the business as numbers/underwriting is one of the pillars of CRE.Of course this will take time.

He built the home himself over the course of 4 years, relying only on a few subcontractors to lay the large pillar foundation into the property’s steep grade.

You should read Pillars of Wealth.

Support pillars teetering on an eroding pile of dirt!  

Books: Multifamily Millions, ABC's of Real Estate, Best Ever Syndication Book, Emerging MarketsPodcast: Pillars of Wealth Creation, Bigger Pockets, Multifamily Live and so many moreCourses: Tons on Udemy and all over the placeEvents: Local groups and national conferences like Best Ever, MRIN, BPCON, etcOnce you've gone through all of that, consider hiring a coach.

I don’t have a great system view of any these states, but some niche knowledge (for instance the three pillars of the Florida economy are: agriculture, construction and population growth).