The answer to that is with another question - where do you have trustworthy people?

@Alex Pinard going to give you a challenge to think about...You state you have extensive home renovation experience and lots of trustworthy contacts.So, why can't you carve 8-12 hours/week out of your current schedule and start making offers and diving in?

That's the value of an agent who goes hard in the paint on due diligence.Importantly, this agent's willingness to walk away from a commission in order to protect me showed me that he was trustworthy and would put my interests above his own.

The deal seemed legit and it was my trustworthy friend, so i agreed to it.

What's the best way to identify a trustworthy private money lender? 

They stopped using K&T in the 40's so any of it left in the wild is just too old to be trustworthy IME.

Just a word of caution about giving up some of your rights in the LLC and won't be a problem with a trustworthy partner.

It's easy to gather all kinds of information on a contractor to determine if they have a history of being trustworthy and doing good work.

Surround Yourself with Local Experts: Assemble a trustworthy local group comprising a contractor, property manager, real estate agent, and other experts.

If you want to manage properties from a distance, establish a trustworthy team in that area.