My friend who owns many rental properties referred me to this deal.

Or do you have another method that you use and could recommend?

I have a friend from work who invest in both Ohio (originally where he is from) and California.

The only exception are parents, relatives and close friends (i.e. angel investors).Best bet is to build some experience by house hacking (FHA loans allow for buying up to a fourplex, as long as you live there, with only 3.5% down). 

Focus on connecting with investor-friendly professionals like agents who understand investment metrics, lenders experienced with DSCR and creative financing, reliable contractors, and a solid property manager if you’re not self-managing.

My friend benefited from assuming my 2.5% rate.

Maryland and Baltimore in particular are very tenant friendly.

I was reading up about it, and saw that the cons of oil heating include needing to top up the oil supply, lower efficiency (than gas and electric), and potential leaking of tanks leading to environmental issues.Is anyone familiar with oil heated homes?

I’m asking friends and family before I ask a bank.

@Nicholas A. your shotgun approach has a high probability of getting the exact quality you put into it.95%+ of real estate agent, many of them posting they are "investor-friendly", only know how to deal with owner-occupied transactions.