A customer of mine happened to be a local real estate investor and he owned the land next to my business. 

Investing in Wisconsin and Illinois is a great move—both states offer solid opportunities for multifamily and single-family rentals.If you’re looking to connect with like-minded investors or agents, I’d recommend joining local real estate meetups or REIA groups in the areas you’re targeting.

Folks say use a local lender.

My goal is to build a strong network, exchange insights, and work with professionals in the local market.

But if this is a one-off, it's probably better to pay a local co-host who already has the local connections.Talk to @J.

Just know that it is a "no days off" kind of business and very mechanical.I would suggest documenting your process via video so that eventually you can bring people on to replace the different hats you will be wearing.Keep in mind of these 5 components of any wholesale business.lead generation, deal sourcing, underwriting, marketing, transaction coordination.

So I arranged the large local home buyers to meet at the property. 

I see why they say, never go into business with family.

And while I agree that debt is often the cheapest form of capital, if you are looking at a project that involves some form of value-add business plan, you can always refi either when rates come down or you have increased the yield on the asset to exceed your interest rate.But like Stuart noted, for many groups, even the most seasoned syndicators, raising call cash for their deals is effectively impossible.  

Personally I think Josh himself is innocent but the company definitely is involved in shady and deceptive business practices.