Welcome Scott,There's a ton of useful resources here on Bigger Pockets from calculators designed to show profit/loss to seasoned investors giving advice.

Partnering up or working with private lenders could be an excellent path, given your background and the experience you bring to the table.This community has a wealth of resources, and I’m sure you’ll find plenty of support and advice to help you get moving in the right direction.

If you find someone that seems to know a lot of people needing your services, wouldn’t it make sense to focus more resources on them?

I benefitted from rent inflation, but I also did some things that would help improve net cash flow (appealing property taxes, for example).Happy to send you some resources with more details on how I accomplished it.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions, share your journey, and dive into the wealth of resources available here.

Ty listed a lot of resources for selling whole notes.  

I’m also wondering how to decide between investing locally versus exploring other areas.Any advice or resources would be greatly appreciated!

Network with investment groups and podcasts for additional resources.

Most fake this, but you are genuine.My response to you is then this.First, be careful, because human nature is a treacherous one.

I would not be a good resource to you unfortunately for providing information from an investor stand point with these types of transactions.