Depending on the scale, a local CPA may not be able to perform a full audit.  

I would recommend house hacking locally.

I was getting interest rates that were slightly over 7% for a fixed, and I recently learned about the 5/6 ARM through my local credit bureau who I had financed my car through many years back.

I would suggest at least have a chat with some local realtors/investors to familiar yourself with the neighborhood and growth potential. 

Otherwise, you could attend local meetups, join mentorship programs or work with investor-friendly agents.

But the old concept of buying local (and fix,rehab,rent) is always working good for me.

Think of the card as a piece of advertising If your working with agents and just buying and holding then you probably don’t need them

Talk to a local realtor about rental trends.Consider the specific homes you've found.

There are great local groups like the North Carolina Real Estate Investor Association and TREIA.

But you should check local ordinance.