To me the only thing that is working now is partnering with people who have their own salaried teams.  

I just need to be pointed in the right direction because I get deals in my inbox from people I communicate with all over the country.

These are the people - in my opinion- that need loan brokers the most, since they really don't have a grip on the market - and are thus more susceptible to agreeing to suboptimal loan proceeds / rates / terms. 

so, you're maxing out debt service which makes it tougher to cash flow.with that said, no matter the purchase strategy, you should always make sure you're using actual numbers, and not random assumptions.for example - some people will throw out '10% for capex.' 

I think the main thing people would point to as a red flag for Ocala is that it is not a large employment center like Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville and as a result may be more exposed to a pull back in values when there is a downturn. 

Just a note, people think "Hard Money", "Private Money", and "Bridge Loans" are the same.

Even if it's just part time, the key to figuring out how PM is done well is by being present around people who have mastery of the industry. 

Clearly there is a sizeable amount of people consuming content about this stuff.Furthermore, there are literally millions of entry level rental properties in the Midwest.

How do you approach educating people on the realities of the business? 

I recently listened to their interview with The Real Estate Guys Radio Show and it's great to have a forum like here where we can hear from people's own experiences.