I think it's a great idea to buy in your own neighborhood. 

Any neighborhoods to look in?

Be sure to take some time to really drive around neighborhoods in these areas, as the east side of the river is still really hit or miss with pockets of drugs and otherwise trashy/ sketchy areas.

For me it may be 60+ community of B or C class in B or better neighborhoods with value add such as rents 20%+ below market rates.

In this market you could buy any run down house in a good neighborhood.

@Patrick Daniel my agent turned on automated mls emails based on the neighborhoods i'm targeting. other than that, no other criteria is being used. so if i already have an agent that accesses the mls, how does that help me get good comps and arv?

I really want to tour the properties I already own as well as get to know some of the neighborhoods that I'm looking at online daily.

There must be groups, clubs, organizations or individuals that have money to lend for a good return on their investment.

I've used Realtor.com crime maps to help gauge the safety of some of the neighborhoods, but I realize those only paint part of the picture.

Depending on what kind of neighborhoods you want to invest in you can but they will be C to D level areas.