Then yeah, probably domestication is your best bet since you would have to pay the full realty transfer tax.

I personally prefer a legal position involving deeded ownership or secured lien position; however almost any real estate activity can be profitable given the right set of circumstances.

Im looking to get involved with one within a 100 mile radius or so. 

If they reduce price by the cost of the expenses plus a little bit for time it is the same property that you were willing to buy and hold except a lot of things will be brand new and less likely to break in the near future.In terms of negotiating don't expect much more than the contractor's bid off the purchase price if these sellers aren't too emotionally involved. 

Then others started to get involved and that is when he saw his investments start to move forward. 

At the same time because of  the smaller scale of everything involved with smaller places, at a certain level (e.g. studio) you may not be able to find a high-quality management company that is willing to take on the property because the fee vs labor time ratio may not be worth their time.

As long as you pre-screen tenants well, most of the time there's not a lot of time involved unless you own a property in bad condition or get the wrong tenants. 

I’m looking to get involved in the local real estate community.

@Jordan Moorhead You are correct about the prop. tax issue, and there are also ways around it (not that it's smart to even get involved in the first place).

Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com are probably your best bet for finding them on the internet without having to get that info from an agent.