The idea of raising funds from new investors to get them involved in selling lease option houses to tenants does not pass the sniff test.In a nutshell, this is why lease option is so terrible.

So we are familiar with the north GA, western NC area.My wife's aunt and uncle are selling their house in Franklin, NC.

If it is a high end housing product you may have to use a designer because they have access to some material/finish suppliers that are otherwise unavailable but that tends to only be for the highest end housing deliveries.

I don't think the future will be kind to the investors who bought cheap houses in a big community of other investors. 

If you offer high quality affordable housing, you'll always find and magically attract good tenants. 

Quote from @Robert Ruschak: Would you skip the 700+ single family houses and scale up faster into multi-family?

FlashlightTape measure/Laser measurePaper/Pen/iPadBinocularsReceptacle testerLevelMarbleDroneRespirator/Face Mask/Eye Protection/GlovesAQI testerWater pressure gaugeThermal cameraEndoscope cameraKnifeI bought over 20 houses in my lifetime and I’ve never taken more than a flashlight. 

Networking,  is mostly with rehabbers in the group that we sell houses to. 

Begin by educating yourself through books like The House Hacking Strategy and podcasts like BiggerPockets, and join online communities for support.

Cash for keys is definitely the best way to get people out in the day when I was very active at court houses steps cash for keys was by far the best way to get folks to move and bad tenants in a state with bad eviction laws to me would be the preferred method. you simply pay them when they are leaving the house not before.. that works fine and you give them more than 1k .. you make it worth their while..