Play the long game and hold onto that equity. 

Will they finance 100% of the purchase and renovation or will they want skin in the game (you putting money in).Most do not do 100% funding so beore going down more rabbit holes, make sure you have the $ aspect situated first.

To rent the home, I would lose about $2,500 per month (based on comparable rents in my area, property management fees, etc).Both options loose the same amount by roughly 2 years, and by this time, I still will not have built up much more equity in the home to make selling it a break even unless there is price appreciation by then.My dilemma is this: I speculate that my home will not appreciate much in the next 3-5 years due to the rapid pace of development in the surrounding area.In 5-10+ years, maybe, but by then I'll have bled $150,000 - $300,000.I have thought about this a lot and feel that I mar'-too close to the problem to see the best solution.

Generally I look for distressed, development, value add, etc.  

Hey all, as the title states I'm brand new to the real estate game and I'm looking to find people in the area who are willing to loosely guide/teach me how to wholesale/flip properties.Are there any networking events in the area I'd be able to connect with?

Harder to liquidate, amplified results if you fail, and cash flow less.Pull a list and cold call, or develop relationships with brokers.

We develop and consult new developers through the full cycle of development.Financing differs from project to project based on your equity, land cost, construction methods, etc.

I graduated from college in May, and I am currently doing business development (sales) for a property management company while studying for my RE license.

Additionally, we have developed templates for tracking key metrics that we require our PMs to fill out weekly. 

I grew up in the real estate industry watching my father raise money with a PPM for large multifamily value add projects and a developments.