@Bryan Walsh, nice way to think outside that box.You would have to shop that around, and you might want to find some private money rather than a regular HM lender. 

I have a similar situation where my regular person left and I had a meeting with her replacement. 

i was at providence little company of mary san pedro for my chaplain training/residency. loved it/providence. still have friends at providence and my most recent manager was from providence mission hills. i (very recently) left my job at Dignity Health - california hospital in DTLA. moved from Los Angeles to Columbus, OH. yea, investing out of state is almost the only option if you're in LA unfortunately, but there is a LOT of opportunity out here i'm finding!

If you're not checking in on your contractor's work regularly, who is? 

I realize there are no/low money down options and I have to be the one to grab the bull by the horns (which I'm doing to some extent by regularly taking in as much real-estate related content as possible), but I'm more just curious if anyone else has ever been in a similar situation where you felt like the clock is ticking.

I sent a 60-day notice certified mail and regular mail.

Does the water need to be regularly treated?

I'm in Williamsburg, so its a bit of a hike for me so I don't attend regularly. 

For new agents, you will still need a regular buyer's agent or two who does on-market non-investor related stuff for the Open Houses and unrepresented buyers.

The right sponsor may not have a deal ready when you reach out, but if you maintain regular contact you'll be near or at the top of their list when they do get a deal and need to raise capital.