Go meet with your broker, explain what you want to do, ask your broker for direction on what you can do, how to do it etc..

Dayton and Cleveland meet your criteria.2.

It's a great place to meet people and learn.

Also, local meetups are a great way to meet local investors!

Happy to help in any way I can, and certainly looking forward to meeting many of you!

Or you can directly meet them by registering to real estate events around you: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521-events-and-happenings 6.

How do you build trust with homeowners or sellers when you can’t meet face-to-face?

There is a property that hit the market today that I can think of that meets all of your criteria, 6 beds, 4 baths, garage for each unit, side by side, yard, B class area, close to highways, and it's 15 minutes from Boston Heights, but alas, the listing price is well above your budget. 

A lot of private or hard money lenders won’t mind if you live in the property while you’re fixing it up, as long as you meet their terms.

He’s not a pushy salesman, and I’ve got a business partner who has worked with him for the last 10 years without any issues.As for your situation, I wouldn’t say it sounds like a Ponzi scheme, but I’d strongly recommend meeting with the fund sponsor in person and asking as many questions as you can.