What you really need is a way to get access to the MLS, which is protected.

Many associations have restrictions on the number of rentals allowed in the complex and certainly on short term rentals (both complex and city/county wide).

Also, I am not aware of any restriction as to who you can name as Trustee, but you should double check that.There should only be recording fees for the Deed into Trust. 

It only exists when accessed through sale of property or refinancing to remove.

Real estate agents and appraisers have access to their local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and can pull all the recent sales data for a particular area. 

We ended up getting a private money loan (rehab + acquisition) and I allowed him to have access to the draws in order to keep the project going.

I like the search features: https://www.biggerpockets.com/searchThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides

I am active duty military, which gives me access to VA loans, etc, which I’ve heard can be helpful.

Would love to access some off-market deal flow, but all my acquisitions thus far have been via brokers.

A lot of forum members are very knowledgeable in their respective fields related to real estate investing, whether that is real estate sales, wholesaling, flipping, rentals, lending, self-directed IRA and Solo 401k investing, or tax and legal guidance.If you haven’t been to it already, you might want to check out the BP blog: https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/Alerts can be really helpful too: http://www.biggerpockets.com/alertsThere are a few self-contained guides that you can access here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/guides