You need to develop strong relationships with owners.

Lot of the hard/private money is about relationships and you have to prove yourself in a sense to gain their trust and vice versa.

I have never met the owner, renter does not have a good relationship due to landlord neglect/disinterest. fwiw - Landlord had a stroke about a year ago and has family in the area (son stopped by after Irma damage). consistent yellow letters?

I would recommend taking this as an opportunity to start a relationship with a real estate attorney or business attorney you can trust and rely on for future advice.

I shopped at different banks and BofA gave me the best rate, 3.5%, because I have a very good relationship with BofA. 

You thus need to tailor your strategy a bit depending on your situation and your relationship with your contractors. 

I must say that the amount of information and opportunities to build relationships seems a bit overwhelming.

I think it’s better to establish relationships with brokers in your marketplace rather than going gung-ho in being a commercial broker.

But these people have massive amounts of knowledge and they are willing to share it based on the relationship we have with each other.

If you're great at the contracting side, maybe start building relationships with Real Estate Agents, Title Companies, Lenders, Partners with Money, or anyone else who can get you into your first deal.