The appeal of REI is the low barrier to entry, but that is also what makes REI more challenging to sustain long term.

Also, @Connor Gillen is a great person to chat with as well. 

The property I would buy is in her LLC but she would like the dream home she’s building to be in their personal names, can she use a 1031 exchange at the end of the 3 year balloon when I pay her off and use those proceeds towards a new construction build?

Are you personal finances under control? 

I use State Farm for my personal residence; it's bundled with my auto insurance.

Don’t overlook East Tampa and Clair-Mel either; they offer more affordable entry points with significant room for growth as they develop.

We have zoom going on most of our in-person meetings.We are a nonprofit and focus on providing education for Real Estate investors.We have 10 or more meetings a month including the main meeting where we have a different speaker providing information on a RE topic.Check us out!

You could try driving for dollars.In general, the easier you make this person's life, the more valuable you'll be to them.

Personally, we spent about a year and a half listening to podcasts, reading a bunch of REI books, and talking to experienced investors before we felt the time is right.

Not necessarily but I felt as though I didn’t need to spend more time there personally.