Surround yourself with new people that will have influence and educate her on the benefits of real estate.

I’ve been threatened by BLM influencers.) 

Not having professional sports is a drawback but that does not matter to many people and the trade offs are worth it for me.Feel free to reply with any feedback or thoughts on the article, demographic trends, and whether or not they have influenced your investing.

I am also looking to obtain bank financing on the rental properties which will be held under the business name and not under my name personally if that influences any opinions.Thanks for the help!

You have to think about where the leads are coming from because some provides better quality leads than others (i.e. a referral from your sphere of influence vs. a random zillow lead you paid for).2.

The other thing is that there can be an opportunity to influence their decision or ability to bend on their criteria a bit if your finances are close, but not quite there, but you can convince them that you can deliver. 

Your finishes (due to ARV) will influence directly your cost, so the full gut price in upcoming areas will be lower if compared to a similar place located in a more "established" neighborhood. 2.

I just don't see how the competition should influence you starting out.

When you are an investor in these deals, you are either a limited partner that has no direct influence on the execution of the deal (i.e. just providing capital to make the deal work) or a general partner that is responsible for executing the deal.The risk in executing these deals and making a profit are laid upon the general partners.

And you can also get on the HOA and try to influence matters yourself assuming you have the time.