It can be done if done wisely with the right tools.  

I have a pretty solid background of working with tools and machinery and a basic house hack would be right up my alley if I could find someone in the same boat to eventually work on a flip or even a rental property.If not I'd love to even just spend sometime on the weekends working with anyone in the Denver area.

You want a place for cutting, keeping tools, etc. without worrying about stepping over things or getting your personal items dusty.Hire contractors with good recommendations.  

It doesn't charge for rent collections and is a very easy tool for application screening and property management.

What are the most effective marketing tools you are aware of for a situation like this?

In the newbie section alone, I've spotted at least 3 people from Minnesota so I have high hopes that Bigger Pockets will be a useful tool in taking me from interested to flipping my first house or getting my first duplex later this year!

All this griping about affordable housing, and at least one good tool has been taken completely off the table. 

But like any tool, it can be misused.  

What I ask is: experience level, crew size, access to subs, tools and references. 

Investing time in identifying my standards, and building tools to use them to filter our properties, has saved me a ton of time.