From what I know of the sponsor’s background, they have NO basis to believe they can successfully navigate the very complicated business of revitalizing a name brand via on line sales only.  

Networking, local meetups, door knocking, mailers, wholesalers, online forums specific to your area of interest.  

I have access to contractors, lenders, and have a very strong balance sheet, so just need to find the right deal and get access to comps.

To get access to the maximum amount of equity, I would recommend Tower Credit Union.

They do offer access to mutual funds, but I do not love this option.

@Tyler Garza a couple of ways of accessing wholesale lists is going to Facebook groups and searching for wholesale groups or real estate investing groups for the area you want to invest in.

I don't care if I'm ahead or behind of anyone else because my goals are not relative to anyone else's progress.I get your point that staying active keeps your skills sharp and that if you're active when others aren't you will have access to opportunities that they do not.

However, aside from that, I couldn’t find much information about them, and the only online presence seems to be the wife’s LinkedIn profile (though I’ve never met her in person and am just going off her profile picture on Zillow).After submitting the application through Zillow, we attached our income (two months of pay stubs for each of us from our current jobs), work references, credit and criminal background, rental history, and the contact info for our current landlord (who just so happens to be my fiancé’s father).

Proximity to Major Northeastern CitiesBuffalo’s location near major urban centers like New York City and Boston makes it an attractive alternative for buyers seeking more affordable housing without sacrificing access to urban amenities.5.

Not sure if that is still legal or even translates in today's world of everything online but seemed like a good screening tool to me at the time.