Our local organizations do a lot - we have representatives meeting with council members, a professional PR firm to help change the narrative on STR's here on the islands, and we're working towards increasing our own lobbying power.

- what do your local laws allow, are there any restrictions

I'm renewing my LOC on one of my rentals with a local community bank through their commercial banking dept.

Olde Kensington is seeing improvement and even has some of the best local restaurants.

I'm a local, direct portfolio lender through my family business, lending in OR and SW WA exclusively. 

Owasso is another area to consider, though prices there may be on the upper end of your budget, but the rental demand is strong due to local amenities and a community-focused environment.For a buy-and-hold strategy, these areas tend to offer good rental demand, relatively low vacancy rates, and potential appreciation over time.

I'm looking to connect with local investors for meetups, collaboration, and sharing valuable insights.

If you’re new to MTRs, it’s worth researching local demand or even checking out some local listings for comparison.

Keep an eye on rent growth trends and neighborhood developments, attend local real estate meetups, and connect with other investors through BiggerPockets forums and local Facebook groups.

This has the dual benefit of helping you stay informed on what’s going on in your local market and knowing all the new members who introduce themselves from College Station, and also every single one of those 660 posts is now an “SEO” post - every time someone googles a thread that’s come up, your name and business appear in these forums, alongside your quality answers.