There are plenty of newer homes and also new builds in the area, but with the same breath I will say that almost all areas of Memphis have to be evaluated neighborhood by neighborhood and even street by street.

We actually spent several weeks evaluating and visiting a Mobile home park in Jacksonville,  AL.

@Tim Shin - the last advice there about evaluating with both sides rented out is how you tell if it's a deal.  

Here are some specific questions we have:How do you evaluate a lender?

I think you are right to evaluate self storage differently.With self storage, you are buying a business, not just a property.

In terms of analyzing deals, the BP calculators are a great way to evaluate properties:http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investmen...I would definitely start there.

After you evaluate them, you can either give them the 30 day notice to vacate or a 30 day notice of a new lease unless they agree to waive that

The commercial lender will evaluate your "investment property" by looking at the DCR ( debt coverage ratio) being at least 1.2 and ARV ( after repair value ) of between 70-80% depending on the lender.Using Brandon's BRRRR method, after property rehabbed and rented, thus stabilizing, many commercial lenders will refi using ARV...sometimes seasoning period is 6-12 months, but most times it takes 6 months to rehab anyway.Ask for VP of commercial department and run your scenario by them, and you might be surprised.

Do you know how to evaluate deals? 

You say they are positive cash flow, but really... if you add in the cost of repairs/maintenance you spent... they are negative cash flow...I'd evaluate the portfolio and keep properties that have the most appreciation potential and sell properties that aren't appreciating.