A lot of the kind of folks you're talking about are active here on the BP forums, so if you have specific questions about any of those areas I'd encourage you to ask :)If you're looking to meet people offline there are several good investor groups in the RI and southern Mass. area including RIREIG and Black Diamond REI.

An unreasonably low late fee - let's say $1 - will encourage more people to be on that side of the line, but you could have a late fee of $1000 and you'd still have people paying late (and some that would pay the fee).

Any general advice/ideas on how to help/encourage our tenants to be more financially literate.Some more context about the situation:My partners and I just acquired a rental property with tenants already in place. 

I encourage input and direct but constructive criticism of the deals I've been purchasing in this hot, maybe top or near-top of the market-cycle. 

@Jim Walters I really appreciate your words of encouragement.

I was talking to a friend who also invests in rental properties, and he encouraged me to get a HELOC on my existing house.

Further, I would strongly encourage you to build a relationship with this older man.

You can encourage him to look for off-market deals and tell him that he will still be compensated. 

Matt, that's so encouraging to hear about the great benefits you've found in joining a CRE company. 

If I had a client with a 25 unit apartment full of long term rentals, I would encourage hiring a separate property manager.