The local insight you mentioned can be a real advantage.

We have an excellent team of cleaners handyman and other local professionals and been in the business for five years.What are the costs vs benefits of each platform?

Research local rental rates to set a competitive price.

If you’re looking to invest in your backyard, it helps to network with as many locals in the industry as you can.

At the moment, I'm lending on local deals and I've been proceeding with caution for sure (putting a lot of the guardrails that Bill mentioned in his post in place).

Congrats to you from a like-minded investor in your local area. 

It seemed like a potential way to expand into markets outside my personal reach using local expertise.

I see your based out of Denton, are you thinking of investing local or in other markets in Texas?

I'm eager to get plugged into the local real estate community & start building my network.

You're paying for your agent's connections, their negotiating skills, and their local knowledge and experience.I would start with telling your agent what your investment goals or strategies are, and how they've helped others achieve that goal.