It all comes down to your objectives.  

Just an idea that may help get the tenant over some objections.

In your experience, what are the 3 top objections you see private money lenders give people who are looking to borrow funds for a deal?  

If someone could suggest some areas or zipcodes that best fit my objectives, that would be much appreciated.Also, if someone has opinion on the Atlanta prices/rents trend, would love to hear that as well.thanks.

Cash flow is the objective here.

Any suggestions from a more seasoned investor as to how to find the right property when investing for cash flow is my main objective.

Having said that the area appears to be one of object poverty, the homes are dilapidated with unkept lawns and trash strewn on the streets and it's an area of high crimes.  

and yes Iv'e done a fair amount of research into the FHA loan. my first objective is to get my credit score up so i will be able to qualify for the 3.5% down rather than the 10%

The "it was grandpa's house" objection is just a ploy to cover up the "I'm trying to eat an elephant in one bite" reality.

One thing to consider is, if the neighborhood is all SFR, then the neighbors may strongly object to a duplex going up.