@Ronald Rohde is local and might be a great resource for you. 

Have you been going to local meetups in your area to meet other people flipping locally?

:)Wish I could go to BPCON but will look out for local meetups in the NY Tri-State area.

We do have a partner we're working with but she's coaching us out of state so itd be nice to find a mentor or co-wholesaler to work with locally. 

Partially by circumstance, albeit those that I created, I will confidently say that I am the amongst the very few local Real Estate Professionals that are as intimately familiar with the rules, regulations and requirements to reliably invest in a permittable vacation rental property ANYWHERE on the Oregon AND California Coast's. 

, what made you feel secure taking the leap with hard money and going after that first flip.Partnering with an investor or doing seller financing would be ideal, but I'm still growing my network by cold calling other investors and real estate agents and attending local events.

Also, by having to do this VRBO no longer remits my local taxes.

First, establish an online presence and join local groups and orgs to get your name out.

They do require patience because they are similar to construction where they can take 60-90 days on average to close.You cannot do the work you need an approved GC or builder and typically required to get (3) estimates from (3) local licensed GC/Builders.  

I am also needing to get my loan team dialed in...So, do you also have recommendations on national banks (obviously I'll check banks local to the deals I find), but would like to start with national banks who specialize in this space.