Are you looking to invest locally there?

It wasn’t ideal, but it was the only way to keep the deal alive.I made the drive to her small town, met her at a local bank, and had the paperwork notarized.

You could even try reaching out directly to local agents or small real estate firms.

I take a slightly different approach and try to partner with local vendors and get commission/kick backs. 

This halts production for anyone that is that far along - you can't just pick up trusses at your local hardware store - they are engineered for the job via the plans. 

I live in Phoenix and my business partner and I put on a couple local forums for investors like yourself to network.

Granted we only have 17 but still, I’ve never used anything except a simple excel spreadsheet and all my rental properties have a separate savings account under my main account at my local bank.

I am very involved in our local real estate investor association and agree that in this central Florida market there are an over saturation of STRs as well.

The best deal I can find today is one that you buy cash, invest a rehab and when you pull out 75% of your ARV you leave maybe a small amount of money in the deal and you break even (BEFORE DISCOUNTING FOR VACANCY, REPAIRS, etc) Yes that means you leave like 10-25k in the deal and your payment becomes $3000/m and your rent is $3000 a month or slightly less.This is for my local market and for Class B or higher RE. 

Build a strong team, prioritize cash flow, and take the time to understand the local market and regulations, especially for development projects.