I was running monthly meet-ups in the south shore prior to this pandemic and we are planning a zoom meeting next week, it may be beneficial if you're able to jump in on it.Another area you may want to consider would be Attleboro and North Attleboro.

It is Fannie Mae HomeStyle or Freddie Mac Choice Renovation.

., it's beneficial for me to take accelerated depreciation on the front end which helps my tax situation massively! 

I can't offer much in investing experience, but it might be beneficial to chat, and keep up with one another's progress. 

I think you'll find it beneficial. 

His choice.

If where I live had cheap houses in the 50k range then it would be a no brainer for me, but I live in CA where scaling wide to start is impossible because properties are so expense (1-2% rule aint happening here) so I have to make some hard decisions about what my goals are for getting started.I wish there were some general guidelines that work for all newcomers, such as invest local with a single family home and learn about fixing it up and being a property manager (conservative approach), which seems to be the only choice for some people.

Tough to do, but you both will benefit from having a candid discussion so you can calibrate each others professional expectations to arrive at a mutually beneficial conclusion going forward. 

My question is would it be beneficial for me to work toward getting a general contractors license to help the team with licensed bids that are fair and have this done in house?

Building lasting relationships is beneficial in the long run, for business and friendship.