Here are some good places to start: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet- find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts - Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.And, of course thehttp://www.biggerpockets.com/forums - ask any question about real estate!

So, the wholesalers aren't feeling any pressure to do better.  

You can also set up keyword alerts to let you know when people are talking about a certain topic on the forum.

Setting up new traps tomorrow.

I very much agree; SFR and multifamily require a different set of knowledge and expertise.  

I'm not setting out to help this guy out in every way possible.

You and your seller will set a closing date when you sign the contract. 

Wondering if anybody had any feedback from the data sets available.

As for it being my first project and being a big one at that, I might be setting myself up for something bad or something good.

I talked about this in my blog post US Cities for Turnkey InvestmentI would consider cities that have grown or stayed stable at least, to avoid pressure stock of vacant houses hanging on that rental market.