Every city is different, PLEASE get yourself to a RE meeting, and do NOT try and do all this from books and sitting online, it will not end well. 

Having someone local who has skin in the game and experience would be valuable.

You can do some sourcing yourself through Facebook groups, and online RE communities , and even pick up the phone and cold call some homeowners that may be tired landlords, don't owe anything, and have built up some equity.With enough volume, you should come across some solid deals.  

You can find templates for joint venture agreements on BiggerPockets or other real estate investment websites.Next, consider joining local real estate meetups or online groups where you can network with other investors.

For them, it’s all about scaling within high-demand markets—they’re playing a long game, knowing demand will stay strong in cities where people want to live.

Hey Tucker, I would say hiring a local property manager is a game-changer for out of state investments.

Quote from @Emma Johnson: Yes I checked It is listed as an option on their website everything online looks legit.

Instead of going the attorney route, I ended up working with National Debt Relief, and it was actually a game-changer for me.They handled all the negotiations with my creditors and were able to reduce my total balance significantly.

I want to know how much skin they have in the game, the loan, and their track record.

You might be able to find a lot of this info online, on YouTube, here, etc and piece it together however as a busy professional I didn't have the time personally to try and fail - nothing wrong about choosing that path however I knew I didn't have time and I was in peace with hiring a coach to help me through my first deal, 8k is affordable in comparison with the 30,40,50k programs out there.