One of the best ways(not the most exciting) is cold calling owners.

I was debating if I should partner with a friend or family member who is willing to work on a property together. ill be sure to make sure things are done legally and fairly so no one get short sighted and things don't get messy.

The closest one to me is 2 hours away so I’ve only ever been to 1 meetup that was held locally and was primarily realtors and people in banking.

I will add my anecdotes: flipping has been good to me and my family, but we do it one the side, when we find a good deal. 

I ended up getting lucky and finding this one on zillow.The biggest problem I'm seeing is that everyone in my area wants close to retail price for fixer uppers - and people are paying it.

On a $50k down payment, he is seeing a $45k gain in annual (compounding, so that number gets bigger every year) appreciation along with the loan balance being paid down little by little  each month.Now that example did not cash flow because he lived in one of the units, but if he moves out in a year or two, it will.

Yes, either that or a multi-family next (leaning towards the MF, if I can find a good one).

No one knows the direction of rates.

House hacking with a low down payment is one of the easiest ways to start since you’ll live for cheap and build equity.

Maybe they will want to buy a house one day and decide to pay me off.