Hello, I am owning/operating STRs in Groveland in Tuolumne County, and would love to connect if there is a group already.

Make sure they stay under what was budgeted by the contractor for the job. 

If it's currently an STR they should be able to provide you with the p/l statement from prior years so you can see gross rents, operating expenses, average daily rates and occupancy levels.

Quote from @Ray Joseph: If you attend a local meetup, I'm sure you'll find investors that operate in other cities or states.And you have thousands of out-of-state investors to mingle with right here!

Create a separate "operating" LLC to handle management activities, including collecting rent and signing leases.

Hard money, private money, joint ventures, even lines of credit secured against existing assets—there’s a ton of capital out there looking for strong operators.

I lost my job in July.

After college I got a job down in Northern NJ and my wife is from here.

If they do a great job, $100 is a great deal. 

Quote from @Donnie Jones: The harsh truth is that wholesaling is a job, not a means of investing.