Am I surprised by the influx of major large development?

Go to local REIA meeting to find people who are looking for hard money lenders or post an AD online.

I have an excellent day job that will afford me time to research and find properties (online) but i do not have any money for a down payment right now and am trying to dig out of CC debt right now that was necessary for me to buy my own new house and move.I gave my other house to my wife, we are amicable.

But for the average Joe, we aren’t set to inherit tons of money from our family, we tried the stock market but we’ve ended up with average 7-8% returns, maybe some of us have great ideas, but we don’t have the connections and/or the network to adequately fund our business ventures.Raising money to purchase a home is relatively easy for the vast majority of people and in some cases can be shockingly affordable.

This is how we found a vast majority of people we now work with. 

I do love getting paid online, but I'm flexible as long as I get paid.  :-)

A lot easier to do comps online and learn about properties from year to year.

And this is a major repair job with lots of tedious taping and repairs before the new stucco can applied.

As far as a mentor goes, I'd recommend doing what you can to find a deal and then bringing it to someone in your area to see if they'd go in with you on it where they get majority (like 60/40) in exchange for guidance through areas that you're needing help on.

Factors like low unemployment, several major employers in the area, good rental demand might help me determine whether to purchase in a particular area.