First, establish an online presence and join local groups and orgs to get your name out.

Have you been going to local meetups in your area to meet other people flipping locally?

I would go to meetup.com to find local investor meetups in the DMV.

:)Wish I could go to BPCON but will look out for local meetups in the NY Tri-State area.

We do have a partner we're working with but she's coaching us out of state so itd be nice to find a mentor or co-wholesaler to work with locally. 

More activities (games, outdoor décor and games - games also end up with missing pieces very often).

At a minimum, if you want to shelter W2 income you need to know the IRS rules regarding passive activity losses and the exceptions, and also about the largest tax sheltering deduction, which is cost segregation and bonus depreciation.

And fellow local investors at a local REIA are always happy to help if you need advice. 

We are on the Eastern shore of Maryland as well :) We run the local REI (Delmarva REI) and have meetups once a month in Salisbury MD.

They do require patience because they are similar to construction where they can take 60-90 days on average to close.You cannot do the work you need an approved GC or builder and typically required to get (3) estimates from (3) local licensed GC/Builders.