I've taken a bumpy road to getting where I think I understand it but I wish I had gotten professional advice sooner. 

We have a great network of vendors in OKC, but we're starting from scratch in TX.

my current cpa has been in the business for 40+ years.  He’s about 70-75 or so.  This year I just felt like it’s complicated to keep up with my invoices and give him itemized numbers.   he wants it broken down specifi...

I am a Real Estate Professional who bought a Property Management Business a little over 2 years ago.

The private lender runs "a trade or business", like hard money lenders and professional money lenders do, as opposed to a casual lender such as a friend or a family member.2.

I already gathered sufficient capital looking to build up a network of realtors/brokers/handyman. 

All of us professionals are trying to make money off you and those trying to help for free, well #1 their opinions are often worthless leading to #2 you get what you pay for regarding free advice.So, question everything to avoid being sold a load of crap.There's a lot you can do remotely - if you put in the time learning enough to avoid getting taken advantage of and/or build the right team.Your first challenge will be WHAT type of investing you want to do.

As a new real estate professional it was imperative to me to be able to learn from successful people as well as be in an environment that breeds success.

When many wealthy professionals are doing "dumb" things, I find it better to ask self how does that "dumb" thing, make sense, and become "smart".  

However, I wanted to start meeting and networking with the local Real Estate Investment community.