I KNOW that market very well, having built all types of projects from SFR, MFR, subdivisions, office parks, medical/dental, retail/office condos, etc.

There is a lot of turnover in contractors that work for HD, because HD really squeezes all the profit out and leaves the contractors with little $ for their effort, so they cut a lot of corners wherever they can in an attempt to actually make some $, and then they quit after a few poorly done projects that nobody except HD benefits from. 

Then I would encourage you to find a part-time investor in your area who does flips and see if you could take him or her out to lunch and see how they got started, see how they manage the project while working a job, and if the conversation goes really well, see if you could fund their next deal in exchange for them teaching you their process (make sure that property promissory notes are in place to protect your position though).

We are syndicating deals in self-storage not multifamily but we typically shoot for a 70 % LTV in our value add projects. 

With the new Suffolk Downs project coming and the new developments in Revere Beach, that area is already starting to become a hot bed for investors.

You can build a house that looks great using Home Depot project source, lower middle grade material for $130/sq/ft. 

Same goes for deal sponsors - between the fees they earn and their cut of the profits from the deal, they typically earn more dollars investing other people's money in larger, lower-ROI projects than they'd earn investing their own money in smaller, higher-ROI projects. 

I have been spending too much time on the house project, unfortunately. 

I've been in Atlanta for a few years now and I work for CBRE in Project Management, and previously for a small masonry subcontractor in Florida; so I'm quite familiar with the construction industry, just on the large scale commercial side. 

Real Estate is a very exciting industry, I already have two sales under my belt within the first month, its awesome finding projects that your investors want to take on!