Hey @Shannon Beahler - welcome to the community!
There is a lot to unpack here! I'll send you a message and we can talk through in more specifics.
1) Creative finance deals are going to be property-by-property specific, not necessarily neighborhood-specific. That being said though the majority of creative finance deals involve some sort of distress. Finding distressed properties is a great starting point (driving for dollars).
2) Drive for dollars aka looking for physically distressed properties and then skip tracing those owners. I'll share some free ways to do this if you decide to reach out. Other options - buying lists on sites like PropStream, Deal Machine, Invelo (free version for BP pro members) etc. and then cold calling, door knocking, direct mailing those houses.
3) This is where your education phase is going to be really important. Networking with other investors that are already doing creative deals will be really helpful. Also, you'll want to make sure to have a relationship with a real estate attorney who is familiar with these types of transactions.
4) To my knowledge there aren't any specific regulatory/legal aspects for Denver. A big part of this side of investing is the ethical side. Making sure you are genuinely trying to help sellers in these transactions vs just getting a good deal without thinking of future repercussions to sellers is key. Again, this is where knowledge of the transaction is crucial along with making sure all contracts are legally sound.
5) If you haven't already checked out the Pace Morby YouTube page, this is the holy grail of creative finance education. Check out the Meetup app and Facebook Groups for meetups (there is one specific Creative Finance Meetup that I attend in the Denver area).
This post could have been a novel but I hope this helps you and others out on some of the basics. Sending you a connection request now :)