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.

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.

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.

Ty listed a lot of resources for selling whole notes.  

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

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.

That said, the IRS allows "any reasonable method" of allocation which of course includes FMV.

Good luck and feel free to reach out if you think that I can be a resource.