I would just look at deals other people aren't looking at aka expired listings, 100+ on market, etc.

I can assist you with those needs too, should you need them. 

I've seen people agree to a balloon in three years, then have difficulty refinancing because they don't have enough equity.

In my opinion there is no better time to educate yourself, because while numerous people may be exiting the asset class, few are spending the time learning how to profit in it.

That's way to random trying to pick up buyers and I don't like letting a bunch of random unqualified people in your home and wasting my time and potentially exposing you to more risk. 

I hope to connect with people doing similar things and build out a team to continue to grow my portfolio!

Any advice on someone who can assist with financing for this development project?

This ensures that you are the only people with access to the property.

I noticed that for Packwood it seems like it is the case and people start to sell.My concern about appreciation is if the investment return of STR cannot continue to go up, then the appreciation will stall as well

Attend meetups and meet as many people in RE as you can.