@Doronda PlacideJoin local real estate investor associations in your area and check Facebook for local meet-ups so you can network with investor-friendly agents or even wholesalers in your market that find deals

The post office has been at this location for 80 years and all of the residents need to pick up their mail from the Post Office, there is no delivery. 

It helps you learn deal-finding and networking.

They meet regularly and can be a great resource for learning and networking. https://www.northwestreia.com/events I have a great network of property managers for long term and short term, so if you are looking to interview some folks who can help with that, please send me a PM.

@Kamryn DeVaultTo invest in a duplex, consider factors like neighborhood quality, economic stability, safety, property condition, cash flow potential, financing options, tenant screening, lease agreements, future potential, legal and zoning considerations, maintenance and management, networking, and starting small and scaling.

Recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Coming out from the Advertising industry in the city for the past 10 years i'm now situated out east on the north fork of Long island and looking for make moves in this region in real estate.Looking to connect with likeminded people and start to grow a network and community around me.

Get them to call you first when a deal comes to them.I appreciate your goal to automate some processes and I'm sure in your field it happens all of the time, but there is no replacement for good 'ol person contact and networking.

Although a book can't offer that live-networking aspect, i feel Bigger Pockets offers that.So my question is, what is the sentiment around here on paying $5K+ to avoid having to search for all your networking needs. 

Looking to connect with likeminded people and start to grow a network and community around me.