Low "B" and "C" type properties usually have a stronger market to survive within as long as they came in solid and not overly leveraged.

I have narrowed my search down to 2 areas, Mandarin and St.

I've narrowed to the Atlanta suburbs because the local economic growth outlook looks good and home prices are reasonable, yet rising.

@John Thedford if structured correctly (with tolerable levels of risk in mind) they can be a good solution for sellers and buyers - but there needs to be systems in place to try to mitigate risk at all levels - and the truth is that a lease option really isn't the best solution for everyone.I'm acutely aware that I'm usually everyone's plan B, and I'm okay with that.

In Maryland, although I have explored it less, I am looking south east of DC (Oxon Hill, Temple Hills, Capitol Heights, etc.).As you can see, my area is still pretty broad and I am looking to narrow it down before purchasing.

Our 2 lenders we have narrowed it down to are both telling us we need 20% down with at least half of that directly from us.

I am narrowing down SFH properties in preparation for my first purchase.  

At least it could narrow your risk profile here as wellYou could also try to negotiate with the seller to get reimbursed for these out of pocket costs.Agree with everyone else here -- double check your comps, ARV and rehab numbers before you go forward.  

This is a personal preference but once I narrowed that down it made searching and eliminating properties much easier.

My next step is to do my due diligence on the three that I think would be good to work with and narrow it down to one so I can get my campaign started.