I too invest out of my area (and even state) and have always started with the PM company which was referred to me by the agent I used to purchase the property.If that isn't an option I've also looked for flipped properties on Zillow/Redfin, identified who the agent was, googled them and gave them a call to see if they could refer me to the GC who did the work on the property they previously listed or are currently listing.

This is a great way to find leads on places like Craigslist so instead of having to spend so much time digging through craigslist you can got IFTTT and set up a program that will identify keywords like, "fixer", "Handman", "fixer-upper", "etc. and will send you a notification through email that a property in your area is available and matches your criteria and you can view it.

We identified a property for sale on line and did all of the financial analysis, education, and marketing study on line over three calls. 

And a lot of investors will keep hammering the SFH/MFH and not look at something that is not identified as SFH/MFH.Good luck hunting.

If I do cost seg and identify 100k rapid depreciation/write offs, how do I split it with the partner. 

I've got a buyer identified and deal worked out selling it for 40k.

I've got a buyer identified and deal worked out selling it for 40k.

I work with my clients to help them identify their top 3 non-negotiables.

Then after, identify a local market you want to stay focused on and develop a team there - agent, contractor, property manager, and lender.

Some of the expenses directly related to acquiring new property could be capitalized if you have identified a property.