I financed the deal through a combination of personal savings and a conventional mortgage.

There's so much inventory that still must be absorbed it will be an uphill battle keeping your inventory occupied unless you are an A+++ location.

I was recently at the BP convention and met several brokers who seemed to think I should just jump in and start representing investors as I seem to know what to do, but I guess I am hesitant because I have never done so.

Inventory was sparse at the time as it usually seems to be. 

Essentially someone that isn't hungry to get you into any property, but has your best interest in mind to get you in the right propertyTips / General Comments- Look at inventory first thing every morning- Go and see several properties - don't fall in love with the first one you see, and don't wait until the perfect duplex comes up to have it be the first one you see-understand how much work each property needs.

that was 7 years ago though and inventory is much tighter now.yes on auctions - you often have to buy with incomplete or incorrect information, and so just very tough to do as your first or second deal.it sounds like you're doing some of the right things in terms of starting to build a network, but it's just very tough to act when you need to when you're out of state. 

Regardless you should see if you can do a conventional refinance instead, to take out the Mortgage Insurance on the FHA loan.

The average build cost is nearly identical but the lower price range nets out 308 builds in ten years vs 303 with conventional algorithms. 

We understand that we'll need to use a local bank to obtain non-conventional financing as well as putting more than customary down.   

the market is tough right now, with prices high, rates high, demand high, and inventory low.