I am looking to get into house flipping as a starting off point with a long term goal of having multiple rentals and doing an occasional flip.

I also feel inherently more comfortable investing in areas where I have family / friends who can occasionally visit the property for checkups.

Hi Pete,Personally, I occasionally use FB on the rentals I own (not manage) if their is a "for rent" page local to the area. 

I have one tenant that mows her own, but I often have to remind her that the grass is looking pretty bad, and she doesn’t use a trimmer so I occasionally have to go do that part myself or spray Roundup.

I work for a large national bank currently but am looking to start investing in real estate, either by house hacking or by using AirBnb to occasionally rent out a room.

With that being said, there are still occasionally good deals to be had.

We see the occasional block foundation but I don't think I've ever seen an entire home made from cement block.I know one "feature" of block foundations around here is that building codes won't allow a 2nd story to be added to a single story with a block foundation.That could have something to do with what I see here as it's pretty hard to find a ranch. 

I occasionally scour your area because of the low market, this must not be on the mls, or I gotta up my game lol.

. #3 to grow with a young engineering firm that has plenty of opportunity for growth and allows me to bring in my own engineering work through the real estate network that I've developed (flippers, developers, etc all need engineering services occasionally).I'm a big fan of securing that first engineering position with a decent income that will help you qualify for loans, etc. but make sure that you don't lose focus of your long term goals, especially as you get started in engineering.

I just ask them general questions occasionally.