I am a marketing professional, but a newbie in the real estate industry.

If not, working for someone in the real estate industry (loan officer, property management, etc) as Michele suggested is a great idea.Another way to do it without spending any of your own money is to use other people's money.  

I believe in the future of Los Angeles and think that if you buy in a decent neighborhood (looking in parts of Hollywood, Echo Park, Mt Washington, USC adjacent, and other transforming areas of LA), get a tenant to pay the mortgage, then repeat as often as your capital allows, you will look up in 20 or 30 years and have both substantial income and massive asset base.   

I suggest you have a good understanding of the industry and the niche of any business before you just look at numbers and expected returns, especially since the historic numbers may or may not be relevant.

Louis.It’s actually a pretty sweet deal: close military family who take pride in executing the mission while looking out for each other; relatively close to several major cities (St Louis, Chicago, Nashville, Memphis), but far enough away to avoid the hustle and bustle; easy access to many outdoor activities; growing tech industry, close to five excellent transportation routes (the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and I-70, I-64, I-55); and an exciting baseball team (I’ve drank the Kool-aide and am now a solid Cardinals fan).Talk about Location!

Quantifying it with a level or saying low/high would relate it to a property which has more than one occupant which can include office, retail, mixed use, light industrial, etc not just multifamily.  

Next to a university, a hospital, a new headquarters, a new oil industry expansion....

Is this something new in the industry?

Talk to your lawyer about your specific situation but generally the jurisdiction of your fund will be a natural result of the structure you choose and where you and your investors are located (in some industries it might be focused on a global hot spot for the industry).  

The bigger focus from my viewpoint should be the general health of the job base and trends in those industries.