The major focus of the work would be to inspect properties both owned and potential acquisitions. 

I would focus on building my skill sets, paying down debt , building a nest egg - savings, 401K, Roth IRA, etc - and continuing to educate yourself. 

I'm about to relocate to ATL myself in the coming weeks, with the same focus that you have in multi-families in that area. 

They're retiring at a very enviable age.You should also connect with  @Bob B. he's a recently retired engineer, focusing on personal investments and helping others do the same.

Focus on making the unit bullet proof.

If he doesn't need the income now, I'd say go for a 15 year loan and devote all the cash flow to paying down the loans, one at a time (so minimums on loans 2-6 and everything left over from all those rent payments onto Loan 1, till 1 is paid off, then start focusing on Loan 2, etc.)

Like they said on the BP podcast all the time, there are many ways to make money in real estate, so pick one and focus on it.

Just stay focused and start investing early, it will pay off later.Let me know if you have any questions about this.

I've decided I would like to focus on multi-family properties simply because I don't want to pay rent when I go to college so my plan is to live in a unit. 

Some people hedge their bets, and go 50/50 fixed/variable (or some other ratio according to their best gambling/research beliefs, but then focus on paying one down quicker than the other once rates actually change).