I'm sure you'll meet a few key players and make referrals there.

Send a colleague request and we can meet to discuss.

You need someone to meet tenants face to face and to collect first months rent and security deposit. 

You are "fairly confident" that you can raise rent to $700, but don't sound too sure about $800, but the property only meets your criteria at $800 rent.

You will meet a ton of like minded folks.Third: start building a network ie lawyer, realtor, CPA, inspector, loan officer, or preferred bank and property managers if flip goes sideways.That is my 2 cents on your up coming adventure.

I am studying real estate during my free time but would love to get some hands on experience especially meeting people in the industry!

Bluff them a bit, you can probably see what they're willing to come down and then throw a low verbal offer to see where they'd meet you.

(integrity)     Trust is the most important and hardest to earn which is why starting with family and friends seems to be the easiest. 

I need a garage for my many hobbies, the wife needs a pool and I haven't seen a reasonable multi yet that can meet that criteria.

I'm pretty new to it myself, still figuring out how it works, which part of it I want to be involved with...I know one suggestion I hear a lot about is going to Real Estate Investment meetings/ Associations.