I'm interested in commercial, but it all seems so big and scary, like jumping off a cruise ship into the ocean. 

The blue collar types or the white collar types?

Stick with C to B class areas (blue collar to lower middle-class people who take good care of their properties), you'l get the best return with the least headaches here. 3) solid job growth, and a diverse economic base, i.e. you want lots of companies employing people, not an area where the lions share of jobs comes from a single sector or small handful of companies. 4) good population growth

Ocean Pointe and its affiliates are the real sellers/owners, and MI just marketing as their own.

Our is "We buy, rehab and resell 3/2 SFRs in two blue ribbon school districts, preference for distressed, bank owned homes."

I can guarantee you that Ocean City, MD will continue to allow them.

I can think of an Uncle that has been generous in the past and my colleagues from my old job, but would any of you call someone from years ago out of the blue and say "Hey!

LA or SD might have some options and San Diego could be much cheaper to get something near the ocean.

I work with a bunch of BPers - (one of them a brother in blue on the Plymouth PD).  

I don't buy in "war zones" or section 8, but there is money to be made in C class blue collar type areas.