I've lived here for a long time so I know my way around and I can provide an opinion, however I'd like be able to provide some objective third party data that assesses/rates or compares the neighborhoods in the Twin Cities and surrounding area to assist in their search. 

We have been exploring ideas for rental properties in the midwest/south/southeast part of the US where property is much more reasonable than here in LA, we have been thinking about trying to find vacation rental properties in Mexico now that things are opening back up, and trying to think of anything else that might provide us with additional cash flow.

With the little data we have seems like COVID is the likely issue here. 

I like having access to the MLS, my local board group for networking, easy access to tax data, etc.

Try going on a "break" with that realtor and look specifically for one who not only understands investments but who also has good technical acumen for exporting and doing deep analytics on the MLS data. 

County data is the most accurate.

.#2 Explore Lowes and Home Depot to Learn About Material PricingTake a tour through Lowes and Home Depot (or their websites) and look at finishes materials and fixtures that you will consider using in your rehab projects.

Over the past few weeks I have put together an excel spreadsheet containing data relevant to todays unpredictable market.

I also find city-data forum to be helpful.

Explore that.