This experience proves that even with challenges, strategic renovations and persistence can lead to a profitable outcome.

•My goal is to build long-term cash flow through rental properties while ensuring my partners see strong returns.I’d love to connect with investors interested in passive income opportunities or those who have experience structuring joint ventures.

But in my experience, you would be better off spending that same amount of time/hustle working a second part-time job with guaranteed income, then investing in buy-and-hold properties. 

Additionally, the beach is still within reach...just a short 1 hour flight or 6 hour drive.  

Like @Bonnie Low, we also use Baselane and have had a good experience with it!

Figure out a question set that helps dive into their expertise as investor-friendly agents, ask about their experience in the investment real estate space, and have them send you a few properties that could meet your goals to show that they can provide quality properties for your to analyze (hint: this is also good to see if they overpromised on their market [ex - Raleigh for cash flow]).Also with the new lawsuit, any agent that knows what they're doing will require you to sign an agency agreement prior to viewing a home.

If you provide more specific detail, and ask more specific questions, we will be able to provide answers in line with our knowledge/experience.  

Considering that, you are likely going to see appreciation year over year, which essentially will be additional equity you'd capture just by simply living in the home. 

Every time you toss the coin, the experiment starts over. 50/50 every time.Not because you send out 3000 mailers does it mean you WILL make 1 deal.If you have a motivated (enough) seller in your list, sure, perhaps... but who told you that if you send 1000 mailers there is one motivated seller, in the mix, and if you send 10,000 mailers you have 10 motivated sellers in that list?

I don't have any real world experience at this time so I won't pretend to know, but I will be following and learning along with you.