I am a local agent here in SLO and also own an investment property in the area.

BRRRR is hard enough if you are local, IDK how some people do this remotely.

Landlord / tenant laws are very reasonable, and there is strong economic growth in the local area. 

Local Market: Investing in your local market can be advantageous because you're familiar with the area, which can make property management easier.

Upon seeing this name again, I looked it up online and found that the person it belonged to had a number of articles from our local news station for a number of crimes, to include forgery, identity theft, impersonation, etc. 

I am also trying to replace my salary with cash flow so that I can just spend my day teaching people how to fly at my local airport. 

Find a local meetup, REIA, or group teaching how to run the numbers.

I have been reaching out to potential sellers for the past few weeks in my local market.

If it’s Amazon they have the option to have the packages delivered to lock boxes at local stores, delivered to their work, or pick them up at certain locations.

You might try and look locally for portfolio loan or DSCR loan.