You can bring a million BPers that sit on the cash flow and do or die mantra, but all the major players know where the real underlying value is.

Although there are national players, most hard money lenders are local.

It's been important to have the network I started of people who have been doing this work but it just sux knowing that when I come to the table, I'm not going to have as much as I wanted to be able to help the other players out as much as I'm now going to have to ask for their help.Unfortunately, while I was able to convince my wife this is the investment route we need to take, she has already expressed to me that she is not open to the traditional idea of house hacking, as in her mind, that is a step backward from where we live now.  

Once you have a good understanding of the city's growth objectives via government documents, you'll need to understand the players.

I don't know if he's a 'big time' player in the area, but he and his wife have some 50 properties, so I think I might have found something of a mentor as well.

If you want to subject yourself to the entire 6 hour session and hear the testimony and decisions, you can find the February 2nd video here: https://www.portlandoregon.gov/video/player/.  

@J Scott   yes the danger of BP  sharing the wealth  creating a new wave of competition at the Baltimore tax sales.I hear what your saying in many tax cert states the big boys come in and bid down the rates of return into the 5 to 8% range.. you have newer players thinking they are going to get this easy 18%...

In the last 2 years, we've acquired the equivalent of 19 city blocks in downtown Jacksonville (roughly 12% of all of downtown) so we can be a major player in downtown Jacksonville's growth which will raise market values and rents for all of our clients who own properties in the surrounding neighborhoods.All of these activities make a real difference. 

For the big players, I am about to market 75 acres within 5 miles of the site.

Regional players can be a nice balance, but ultimately it still comes down to what'll work best for your tenants.