If you're at the beginning of your RE journey, then 1) determine how much time you can/want to devote to your RE venture.Here're a few articles to help you decide on that:https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/8...https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/10850/7...2) then within the area you selected in #1, pick a niche that you believe will work best for you and personally determined to make it a success. 

Aside from multiple ongoing code violations, neighbor complaints and damages, they moved in extra people/pets, tried to scam the utilities, stopped paying rent and ultimately had to be evicted. 

I have been looking at the MLS (wife is a Part Time Realtor for now) I is hard to find a descent deal and when there is one you have like 20 investors jumping on it lifting up the price if not the Realtor hold on the offers trying to scam the system.

So its not like they scamming you....

. - It depends on how much time you have to devote to real estate. 

I agree with Neil.Syndication and the associated costs with it is not worth it with smaller deals.Now to answer your question - your focus should be 2 things:FIND & meet private investors; andFINDING deals80% of your time should be devoted to those 2 things. 

100% scam. 

Alot of TK scams out there.

I'm a buy and hold investor currently devoting all of my time to finding great deals.

I congratulate poor young men upon being born to that ancient and honourable degree which renders it necessary that they should devote themselves to hard work.