However, my local REIA is the only paid community that I am a part of and it is $200 per year.

Sharing experiences, discussing local trends, and gaining local perspectives would be invaluable as I move forward with my investment goals.Additionally, if anyone has recommendations on how to find an agent who is experienced and comfortable working with international investors, I'd greatly appreciate that as well.Thanks in advance for any help and guidance!

I deal with development opportunities where I can and synergies between local businesses.Then I have my operations manager who handles most of the day-to-day management of the properties, and they manage some of our contractors and managers.Our model is a little different than large parks because we have regional managers that cover multiple communities vs a single one.The pain point right now is mainly having consistently qualified contractors and filling vacant spaces as quickly as we can.

House-hacking today often has to rely on much greater lifestyle sacrifice than what I personally did 10 years ago, and requires strategies that would make me uncomfortable like rent by the room, or using local laws that allow Short-Term rental only for owner-occupants. 

Connecting with local real estate investors and getting advice from experts can help you understand market patterns and investment techniques.

tell them you're not ready to have your credit pulled and don't want to start an application, and then just ask what you might qualify for, what is involved in filling out an application, etc.call some national banks and some local lenders. 

That said, I hate paying retail for anything so I'd probably just build my own locally and hold them for rentals lol

Guild is also one of the most expensive lenders out there, they are a big behmoth with private and public shareholders to please, so costs are much higher to drive profit for them.I am a local house hacker/investor and lender for WA State, and would be glad to help you with this @Chelsae Roach!

We have a local meetup that meets every first Wednesday of the month.

The BP lender finder tool should be a great way to connect with some lenders but you might also want to check with some local small banks.