This will improve your odds of successful flips.When a wholesaler has a bunch of flip buyers coming to the house at the same time or throughout different times, your odds of getting that deal at a number that makes sense diminish.

If he doesn't do biz structure or contracts,  I bet he'll have referrals.  

My approval odds aren't great, I'm a first time investor without any exciting financial history. 640 credit.

In that price point, you'll do well to look in Seminole Heights.Value add will always be your best bet for better ROI, but out of town buyers usually will want as close to turnkey as possible.A pool will add 30%+ to your ADR. 

And when Google seeks to monetize it, I would bet we see similar fees.

I haven't seen any online forums but if there is one, I bet it's a Facebook group. 

Would the best bet be for me to just park a chunk of that money in a high yield savings account until tax time?

Personally, I'm betting my own money on it, looking for investments now that our inventory has creeped up to about 4 months supply, which is still pretty low compared to most markets.  

This is known as “speculating,” and it isn’t much better than getting in your car, driving to Vegas, and betting all your money at the poker table.

I agree that networking is your best bet and aligning with a mentor is a great idea.