I agree that MLS is not a good way to find them but there is a thriving investment community here and with a little research and time spent attending investor meetings you can learn alot.  

It's not really a thriving business.

I am rising wholesaler in my local area, looking to grow my knowledge on real estate and build a thriving RE enterprise.

Thriving or emerging downtown - Google search 9.

Low costs tools to help you thrive during this time:Propstream ($97/mo): data vendor where you can run comps and pull 10,000 records a month BatchLeads ($95/mo): texting platform; they scrub your list for litagators and allow you to send texts one at a time to keep you compliant. 

Kansas City is considered a perfect destination for real estate investment due to a variety of factors:-- Thriving local economy: Kansas City is home to several major corporations, including Sprint, Hallmark, and H&R Block.

I imagine it was thriving at one time.

As a real estate agent living here in Atlanta for over 20 years, in my opinion the market is thriving wonderfully.

You can create passive income building a RE team as an agent or just a thriving solo business, but it takes a lot of money in to get a lot of money out and you can't cash-out refi your RE team when you want to upgrade it.

That led me down the path of researching the ingredients that make up an affordable, safe, and EXPLOSIVE rental market.Picking the right market will:-Ensure that you get positive cashflow on your deals-Have a high likelihood of great appreciation over the long run-Protect your investments during a downturn due to less recession in the immediate area-Give you a thriving community to plug into to help you learn the ropes and meet the right people-And much moreDon't be blinded by a house that's only 20K but it's in a small, rural town.Price isn't everything.That house will be hard to renovate, keep rented, and manage in a town like that.