I'm looking to connect with an investor-friendly broker who has deep knowledge of the area and can identify cash flow-positive investments that yield solid returns.

They dive deeper into niche services by providing in-depth analysis from a high-level and experienced point of view.I see your biggest obstacles as a lack of experience and background as investors and the perception that these are services your wife should already be offering as the licensed agent.Given those obstacles, what differentiates your service? 

Actually start in the deep end and begin working on the projects (flips, brokering, wholesales, etc.) that you're wanting to do and you'll notice that you'll find your team along the way.

We want to delve deep into one city first before moving to another.  

Make sure you have the right resources before diving into out-of-state investing, since you won't be able to monitor your rentals in person.

Well, if ARV is $140k and you're all in at $140k, it doesn't sound like you're too deep under water.

This is an amazing place to dive into real estate investing.

As we start to do a deep dive of the market, we would like to connect with fellow investors to get the lay of the land, insights on where to start poking around, areas to avoid, what strategies are working for them, etc.

There are other challenges that come with unqualified tenants in addition to nonpayment of rent including unauthorized guests staying in the property, broken windows, and other issues which I'll dive deeper into in a future post!  

Even short comments from professionals seem like much better alternatives than my deep contemplation.