Hi TJ,I always suggest to clients that they take a look at homes in their market to see what other flippers are doing.Here a couple of example properties that you could look at and / or contact the listing agent for more information.This property is currently listed at $639,997 and sold for $375,000 on 1/18/2024.https://www.redfin.com/NJ/Bloomfield/465-Beardsley-Ave-07003...Another one to look at is this one that is listed at $694,850 and sold for $485,000 on 2/20,2024.https://www.redfin.com/NJ/Maplewood/77-Rutgers-St-07040/home...Hopefully this gives you some confidence and motivation! 

Good contractors are a precious commodity and any investor who has spent years and tens of thousands of dollars on contractors form hell will not feel motivated to share those with a stranger on the internet.

Is it better to constantly reach out to motivated seller leads or have motivated sellers reaching out to me?

Motivation is to overcome down payment hurdle for expensive houses for STR

Rich doesn't last, successful does.You are young and motivated which is awesome, but you are chasing the wrong thing.

I'm not necessarily looking to invest in this area (probably upstate), but looking to meet people in the area I can learn from/build a like-minded community to keep me motivated.

Conduct thorough market research to identify target areas with high investor demand, distressed properties, and motivated sellers.

He's already purchased and moved into his next home and is very motivated to sell. 

I could also increase the NOI by taking over management myself.Seller is motivated to sell because he's out of the area and trying to consolidate his holdings for easier management.  

I can buy a house for 25k.We just bought a DWMH with land for 6k from a motivated seller.Put that money to better use like purchasing a list of owners and doing some direct marketing.Drive for dollars in your town and look for distressed or vacant houses, MH's, Land and send the owner a letter.