From my experience, attending local meetups, lending-specific events, and networking with experienced investors can open doors.

Hi Niece, I'd suggest you get involved with other like minded folks at your local real estate group.

Going from a $232K purchase to a $575K sale is no small feat, especially with a full excavation of the foundation and reframing involved.I’ve got a buddy who tried something similar outside San Diego last year.. he had to reinforce the entire property with a new slab and rebuild the interior layout from scratch.. definitely not for the faint of heart, but his final sale price turned heads in that local market.

I’m looking for local forums, groups and or networking opportunities in Washington D.C where I can connect with other investors or wholesaler professionals.

I can't see but maybe the wooden piers are sitting on sonotube concrete piers embedded in the ground which might change things.What I would do is get with a few major local lenders and maybe ask them what they would need to make sure the little studios (that is what I would call them, not yurts) are maximized for value.

The nat'l trends are definitely not relevant, local is all that matters.

But why not start locally? 

If you think the Airbnb resolution center is difficult to fight….

It also has the benefit of being local which is great training wheels as you learn how to be a killer host.Now assuming that you mostly want a cool property to stay in sometimes near water and don't want to spend a ton of time managing I really like the outer banks in NC.

Directed marketing to pre-foreclosures, a website with seo, networking, driving for $$, go to some local meetings.