Invite the neighbors, they may have someone who wants to move into the area and this allows them to help pick their neighbors. 

I just picked up a house that has a lot of these post powdered beetle holes in the floor joist.

You want to waste $200 and three days, get some fliers printed up for cheap and walk the neighborhoods you are interested in and try to pick up some deals.I can't stand these people. 

I also make it clear that I am going to pick the tenant I feel meets all of my criteria the best.

“Pick your best friend or your mom and give them a 1% non-voting, non-saleable interest, not entitle to distributions interest.”b.

@Guy GimenezGreat points, I'm currently picking up books and listening to podcast any chance I get, but I know that's not enough.

I've often wondered what the flip or rental market might be like down there if I could pick something up at the right price.  

There are a million different ways to cherry pick what you personally think the government should back and what they shouldn't.  

As Tim Gordonmentioned, it seems like this first meet up will probably be a smaller group in the 10-20 range unless this thread really picks up.  

I understand none of them are great, but at the end of the day, I need something close enough to start, so the ability to pick my own properties as comps (from a list that they provide, which admittedly, is probably not the full/best list) is good for me.