If you know how it has been dug and formed, you'll know that it all depends on the source, so saying that quartz is more durable than granite, in one area quartz is harder than granite, and on another location granite is harder than quartz, stone is stone, nothing special about it.

Zips and cities are too broad a stroke and wildly varied in Atlanta.When do I want to buy it?

Cap rate generally varies between 15-18% which is very decent.

Depends on budget really but, if you want to be in the heat of the movement, stay north, thats where the money is going. 

Down payments however, are usually 25-30% depending on the project and lender you are working with.

I would prefer to flip it but it may be my first rental property depending on the circumstances.

@Megan Bridgette,The answer to your first question is, "not hard, but not that easy".The answer to the rest of your questions is, "it depends ...".It depends what you expect from foreclosure.com.

But the competition between remaining products must depend on the market.  

Depending on what percentage your commercial Lender will loan you against their new appraisal, the usual 70% means that you wouldn't get all your original $85k back  at refi.

The goal would be to rent weekly roughly what the mortgage costs or more depending on what the numbers are and the market will support.