Alamo REIA also hold events trying to connect individuals from different specialties within the real estate investing space.

Investment property (not primary residence) It's the industry standard if you're not going to live there.

Go to GET STARTED > EVENTS AND MEETUPS at the top of your screen.

Not sure how many PMCs you've had bad experiences with, but we'll take exception to:"Then do a thorough research on tenant applicants (note: leaving this to a PM may be hazardous to your financial health)".BP seems to have more threads about screening mistakes by DIY landlords as opposed to PMCs.Now, if you'd have mentioned Maintenance, you'd get no argument from me:) Even the PMC industry acknowledges maintenance as one of the biggest challenges.Rereading my post, I kinda see how I sounded negative toward PMs.  

My goal is to learn as much as I possibly can and connect with experienced investors along the way.If there are any local meetups or networking events, I’d love to hear about them!

You can meet local investors by registering to attend real estate events in your area: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-and-happenings6.

The industry is quite fractured and developers are mostly regional.

How fast can you learn a new industry?

Some syndicators have so many fees (acquisition, construction management, asset management, capital event, disposition) the syndicator is going to get rich even if the deal produces zero return for its investors.

There plenty of industries that are now seeing the value of block-chain.