It was so crazy when I was there because it seemed like so many people in Detroit had a "renters mentality" rather than an "owners mentality". 

He would show up for a couple hours, do a couple things and leave exhausted.

Literally exhausted at the end of the day.

Comparing lenders could be very exhausting for an investor due to that fact lenders vary on almost everything from the type deals they fund to how much they will fund and rates and terms.

And how is he/she different than an agent working at companies such as State Farm?

It's much easier to sell a sfr than an apartment complex

For example: "Hey BP, I have been doing some research on Houston and found these statistics: there are X number of military bases, there are X number of universities with aprox Y number of students, etc.... my list is not exhaustive, but, I would love to hear from BP about what I am missing or getting wrong/right, or any other juicy data that would be helpful for encouraging investment in Houston.

I am having difficulty discerning whether I need to be patient and wait longer or if I just haven’t exhausted all the potential resources.

My project needs more than an hour or two. :-) What kind of properties are you looking for?

Part of me wants a single-family house but that also means I will exhaust all my savings and take out a mortgage.