A good way to crush the 1% rule in a market that doesn't offer too much of that, but you are basically writing the property off after however long you plan to implement the strategy for. 

Rented at top of the market and was able to sell after 5 years of generating 30k annually, at a rougly 125k profit above what was spent to purchase and renovate.

Upstate New York will generally qualify with standard markets such as Travelers, Nationwide etc... there are a few other property programs that do very well depending on the size.

IT Business:With $250k in cash savings and significant untapped equity in your rentals, you’re in a strong position to leverage your existing real estate knowledge to grow your portfolio further.The real estate market, particularly with your ability to do your own rehabs, might provide you with more immediate and scalable opportunities for wealth building, especially if you can find properties that need work and force appreciation through value-add strategies.Balancing Both:You don’t necessarily have to give up the IT business entirely.

So the facts are that you will only get paid roughly equal to the market rate for this service in your area.  

I have been hearing good things about the market.

Quote from @Wayne Toh: Look at the market.

Second option would be to contact some abstractors in the local market.

But we got to see the companies who were looking at our listing, which helped us identify the potential market better. 

If you grow you eventually will probably choose a separate company to market yourself through anyways.