First, deep relationships with people so that you know them well, they know you well, and relationship continues for many years.  

The most important thing is to know the details of your local program like the back of your hand, then look for loopholes.Just to give you and the other BP'ers a deeper handle on why some TDR programs work and some don't, I just uploaded an excellent study on the topic to my FilePlace at http://www.biggerpockets.com/files/user/ChrisNewma...

As my wife says on these deals and she is always very nervous we wont really know until the deals have cycled.. but for operations so far so food communications is Excellent..

Being relatable is important maybe not for a tax expert but for an advisor with collaborative relationships it is very helpful.     

I use all of them:-Brokers-Platforms like LoopNet, Crexi (my favorite), and BiggerPockets Deal Finder-additionally, brokers often have access to off-market opportunitiesWhen dealing with brokers, I've found that you have to build a relationship in order to get a good deal flow.

I have an excellent consultant who helped us a couple of year back.

House hacking is an excellent strategy, and just got a lot easier as conventional loans now allow 2-4 units with only a 5% down payment.

Hence, they sent me a link to give them a review on their workshop only, which I agree is excellent but I've decided I'm not going to sign up with them given what I've read on Reddit.

Your strategy of partnering for the down payment is exactly what I’m working toward—leveraging relationships to make things happen.

While cash flow can be limited within the downtown area, there are still excellent opportunities for cash-flowing rentals in surrounding regions.