Since you’re already networking and have some good realtor contacts, focus on narrowing down your investment strategy (like buy-and-hold or house hacking) and target markets with solid cash flow potential.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

The other half is a mix of spec and owners buying lots to custom-build for themselves (more of the latter than the former).

They put on a good show, but don't buy in.

Just make sure you are saving towards those slow months during the peak months, buy a deal at the right price (don't overpay just because its a turnkey STR or you think it will make more money than projected), and look into ways to increase bookings during those slow months with some marketing and operation tweaks. 

So why would we buy the cash flow at a rate of 6%?

Not realizing I was only getting a few hundred a month from it and from a cash-on-cash perspective I'd have been better off buying TBills with the click of a button instead of all the hard work, stress, time, and planning I put into it. 

i have people in my network who find deals; they get paid if I buy them; i diligence them; and then my PMs manage them.i didn't look at your profile, but do you already own rentals? 

We are buying two houses right next to each other.

I've helped people with SBA loans to purchase real estate for a business, but for buying rental real estate, the DSCR loan is a much better option.