Many real estate agents dabble in property management without fully understanding the complexities involved, making it risky to work with them.

I personally have no connections with anyone who is involved in this niche and I'm wondering how other people have started their journey.

There are a few options(1)You can get connected with the larger wholesaler firms in the area (2) go through PCPAO site and skiptrace the buyers of similar properties as yours, (3) hunt down the agents involved in the sale of properties similar to yours or go to local REI meetings and pitch it to the investors there. 

Specifically, I am interested in learning more about syndications, working with lenders, lawyers, CPAs, and other professionals involved in cross-border real estate deals.

The truth is if your investors have no involvement in the operations, If they just put in money and expect to get a profit, you have created a de facto syndication.2) I see a ton of people who just raise money for the syndication. 

who are involved in wholesaling or other real estate ventures.

@Corey Curtin has been a stellar agent for my clients.I heard things that involve the city like zoning/permits can take a while in Birmingham compared to other AL markets so I'd be cautious of that.

Every youtube video I find when searching this problem involves someone replacing or moving an electric box that either hasn't been wired yet or is re-wired.

I happen to be looking for gap funders myself for a number of my house flip projects in Houston, TX and finding gap funders or any kind of private money involves a lot of networking and putting myself out there to meet potential lenders.

For reference, we're heavily involved in the co-living space, which is an unorthodox strategy but can perform exceptionally well with the right property and systems in place.