But about 1 year after we bought the property, they started cracking down on the homeless in downtown Jacksonville moving the crime to the neighborhoods just outside of Jacksonville.

Piece of advice - when I started I wish I would have focused on my multifamily niche/expertise from day one vs trying to be the agent for everyone (flippers, STR buyers, land, etc). 

However, when STOA first started going down the tank, they were negotiating with me on interest because selling them on MLS was a different entity at that time.  

You really need to decide on what is most important and then start looking. 

Lenders or investors who have short lock up periods but have years of experience feeding their business with new capital would give me more comfort but anyone who is just starting and is promising a rate of return or return of capital in a set period of time would be alarming because they very well could be reliant on fresh capital to make good on that promise and that usually ends poorly.

Our team along with clients all are heavily investing in the area, and it is a strong place to start. close proximity to New York and New Jersey, paired with extremely affordable property/taxes and high rental demand make it on most people's radar.  

As you're just starting out in Austin, focus on learning the local market, particularly areas with good rental demand and lower entry prices.

I don't think rent to retirement can vet a deal any better than anyone else or you, they just have a bit of a system. but the new builds in Lehigh acres, Cape Coral, north port, etc are all garbage. septic systems, poor economics, low rent to purchase price ratios, you are banking on appreciation and buying at market. building direct is going to give you a competitive advantage on a 3 unit let's say worth 600,000 you are going to be 120k ahead than if you bought it through them. that's my analysis. if you are super lazy and too busy to make money and have millions to throw around then I'd recommend not thinking much about investing. but you can also invest in funds and be way omre passive than buying a new build from far away. but if you want to add real value then get involved and make it happen. getting wealthy isn't easy. you work hard for your money and there are build to rent developers like us that try to answer and add value to start buiding relationshipsl

Scott as a starting reference.

There's no real wrong answer to your question, but the right answer starts with you figuring out what general direction you want to aim in.