Are you focusing your efforts in/around your local market?

Unless you use a local professional familiar with the market, who you trust, best way to know a good deal is to study the market.

I have been on New Western's deal list as well as another bigger local company and everytime I underwrite these deals there is very very minimal left on the bone let alone contingency funds for going over budget on the flip...

So we restricted local landlords who rent to families, and soon the town will experience the very real repercussion of no one wanting to rent to families and professionals.

For starters, I recommend to begin with a single family home or if you are looking to start locally, do house hacking. 

I would like to speak with local investors, real estate agents, property managers, lenders, etc. from the area.

A note failing after two months is a pretty rare event Aloha is a very experienced lender. 

Go to BUILD YOUR TEAM at the top of the screen and look for local investors or meetups in your area.

Accessibility and local knowledge above everything else. 

You have some good comments above but I would also suggest to try some local real estate meetup groups.