Low barrier to entry, low taxes, landlord friendly, some amazing class A and B suburbs and a strong urban core. 

Start by educating yourself with foundational books like The Millionaire Real Estate Investor and practicing deal analysis using tools like BiggerPockets calculators.

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

I get FinTech is a high-risk activity, but imagine the industry will consolidate to one or a few strong players.

The time has come for me to start investing in real estate and before doing so i'm looking to build a strong and dedicated team of partners: agents, lenders, contractors and property managers mainly in the Cleveland area (but also open to markets within a 2-3 hr drive away) that already possess an excellent track record in their line of work and that value long term collaboration.

I personally have no connections with anyone who is involved in this niche and I'm wondering how other people have started their journey.

Are you able to start investing in your hometown instead?

Yes you partner with them on the individual deal but you get the reps in to become better at watching a deal from start to finish. 

Good evening BP world,I am looking to make some contacts, specifically RE agents and hands-on investors in the phoenix area, in order to start acquiring some value add SFH investment properties.

Many successful investors started small, such as with house hacking or buying affordable properties to rent out.