As usual, personal relationships are the most important.

I can understand not wanting to mix real estate investing and the relationships that you have with people at your church.  

A lot of people think theres a lot of turnover with M2M, but the truth is if you have a great rental and have a good relationship with the tenants they stay longer anyway.

But the name of the game is skate to where the puck is going....this market seems to have a vibe of affordable housing, space, yard, single family, etc... in my opinion Not sure about NY, but Cleveland has pockets of massive appreciation.Tremont, Lakewood, Ohio city - all neighborhoods of 2x-4x appreciation over 7-10 year horizon..... not sure now as I never had the stomach for the risk/reward.I always operate in the same market since I’m a high velocity flipper and deals exist all over the Midwest key is building relationships and trust in your market.

Considering partnering with someone with complimentary skill set sounds like the best option but there are so many scammers out there... also not quite privileged enough to have close relationships with those in a position to offer private investment opportunities at this time.

We have a great relationship so I'm not in any rush to get out but I would like to buy my own home as quickly as possible so they can retire and not have to think about supporting me in any way.

You should start building relationships with seasoned investors in your local market...with the right relationships, you'll eventually be able to use other's money, knowledge, skills, etc.

It would be great if I could consult with an attorney about this situation, but also just to form a good working relationship for future projects and investments.Best,Tom

I typically look on the MLS, but I would like to hear about some more creative ways to find a property.If it's on MLS, CreXi or Loopnet for >2 weeks without an offer - Odds are its not that great a deal.I don't know about creative, but you've got to build relationships with sellers/buyers.Best tool - It's called a phone.

Cold calling can work, but the time an effort it takes to blindly cold call apartment owners can be better served building relationships with RE brokers, property managers, etc.