Assuming you have access to MLS (Multiple Listing Service, a place for agents to list deals).1) Look for deals that look like investor-type of deals (e.g. low purchase price, ugly houses, or sometimes MLS will even say what type of financing it is)2) If the buyer's info is there, voila.  3) Otherwise, contact the realtor to look for leads (that will be more of a uphill battle, but you never know...)

Would you have or know where I could find an example lease to use as a starting point?

How do you know there are funds have you seen actual bank accounts ?

Tell them you want to get into investing and ask them if they know of anyone who might be interested in seller financing. 

How you hold your your shares in the ownership LLC is up to you. 

I could use some help from investors in IL... how do you set up a sub to there??

Quote from @Paul LaValley: I live in Tucson and know Tucson really really well so I want to start here and then jump up to include Phoenix area. 

Then I'd push those factors out if there were no good comps.  2 miles, 6 months.  2 miles 12 months , etc.It takes some local knowledge to know when you're pushing those parameters out too far to be useful. 

You need to learn how to analyze property and determine if they are a good investment.Here's a guide that describes how to analyze a property.https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/rental-property-cash-flow...

I’d start by figuring out the cost of the cosmetic updates and seeing how much you could rent it out for.