Another good reason to do regular property inspections. 

They have regular meet ups.

I’m surprised more people don’t do this regularly, especially if it a good deal.

Are there any REI Networks that meet regularly that you know of and attend in the DMV area?

The long and short of it is being interactive with people.

Interact on the forums and read/listen to as much as you can!

As has been stated on these forums regularly, the seller also benefits greatly given the consistent return of the note and at a much higher rate than one would receive from a bank and with less volatility than would be experienced in the stock market.In my uneducated opinion syndication offers higher potential for return whereas seller financing offers more financial flexibility.

For one, it defeats the entire purpose- if you are going to be interacting with the tenant and making minor maintenance decisions, then you are wasting money on the PM. 

From a borrower to lender interaction, you can look at it like this.Large capital sources - relationships will be 1 to few"Middlemen" - relationships will be 1 to many borrowersThe Middlemen act as one large borrower for the large capital source.

Working directly with sellers is the bulk of the equity capture I need at the buy.Look for tired plexes, carpet and a dumpster in the driveway, yard/moving sale holders, places for rent and to your circle you deal with regularly.