He has rejected larger offers and suggested I invest $5,000 for an 8-12% stake in the venture.They uses a cost-free retail space and a reliable, but paid event venue and has 100 attendees weekly.

Anyone have any recommendations for any of the following:-Local fix/flip mastermind groups or general real estate investing groups-Reputable hard money lenders with a good reputation - ideally one that has reliable contractor references-Fix/flip friendly contractors-Fix/flip friendly agent that has hyper-local market knowledge of North Dallas markets-Wholesalers worth talking to

Seems like market research is the most reliable way to track this. 

HI Kev, we helped a lot of luxury STR investors this year utilize the accelerated deprecation tax incentive, I would actually suggest checking out the bigger pockets featured tax preparer section and sine it's likely a considerable reduction definitely not try and do it yourself..the investment in high quality reliable tax advice is essential to any investor tool kit. 

From that I was able to find a great realtor and a duo general contracting team that has been very reliable- chatting with them almost daily and doing a video walk through once a week. 

Many months of rates moving at most a few basis points a week morphed into dramatic, massive movements—with bigger changes sometimes happening in one day than had occurred in quarters or years prior.Real estate investors navigating the challenging market of 2024—with mortgage rates still at elevated levels—are at an advantage when they can lock in financing terms or plan purchases while DSCR loan rates are favorable.

My clients who bought prior to 2022 are doing very well right now as rental rates are up and they've locked their low rates in till 2027 at least.

You CAN start the process and even lock your rate and have everything ready to close on day 12 months +1. 

I wanted to know if there was any reliable in person seminars for real estate investmenting in Fairfield county Connecticut..any suggestions?

In my market there has never been a time span of 12 years without increase and the 12 years was after the Great Recession.My belief is the reliability of each depends on the market.