I suggest reading forums threads and finding people that seem trustworthy, connect with them and develop a relationship.The sources you mentioned are good places to look at notes and practice analyzing them, but they are not a great place to buy notes.

And somehow the quality is even better, and I do not want to lose him to someone else.Finding good subcontractors who are available, reliable and trustworthy is not easy (where I come from anyway) and is the one thing that has concerned me most about this endeavor.

Whoever is remaining is charging $20+ an hour and the quality of work is not even necessarily good or trustworthy.. when like say 1 year ago it was $10-12 So the local GC who maybe picks up a guy or two for extra help is aware of this as well and is also charging 15-20% more as well.  

2 - Seek out trustworthy contractors and managers?

I was hoping to get some recommendations on a good cleaning person that is reasonably priced (maybe $20/hr or so) and very thorough/trustworthy.  

Investing in other markets can be one, but it is important to know the area or have someone trustworthy who does and that can help guide you through. 700k+ is tough for most first investments, but some people have more working capital than others.

As I have expressed my interest towards investing in multi-family rentals, I have several trustworthy colleagues who agreed they would be interested in teaming up on investments.

Also finding a real estate agent that was trust worthy and investor friendly.

It may look like that on a proforma sheet presented by a provider, but the reality is buying from a solid and trustworthy provider a solid property in a good neighborhood is realistic going to be return 10-12+% over time if you do well, putting 20% down. 

It is getting harder to buy in good areas from reliable & trustworthy providers truly cash flowing turnkey properties, but still possible.