You would need to contact several real estate professionals in the area and make them aware of what you are looking to do.  

There are multi-billion dollar expansions of several refineries along the MS river and that is creating huge demand for housing. 

Right now it is very difficult to find contractors for renovation jobs as there is a severe labor shortage.

You also have several big funds Interesting article on  the Florida tax lien certificate market:http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-05-03/news/f...My advice is to stay in your local market to get started.Happy Hunting!

In some cases that is an all-in-one solution and in others that is several different pieces working together.  

I'm weak in several area's so I hire people to strengthen me in those areas. 

Either they’re posting several ads about looking for homes or spamming any ad that claims to have “off market deals”Linkedin - Look for people with real estate in their career and you’d be surprised how many people are cash buyers or have a heavy list of them.

You can start looking at this list that BP had put together:https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/self-directed-ir...Also I suggest you search forum because your question had been asked several times in the past so you can find some good past discussions that will be beneficial to you. 

My husband and I have been binge listening to books and BP podcasts for several months now.

If you want the cash out refinance based on the ARV or new appraisal you have to wait 6 months.There are several strategies to bypass this so you wouldn't have to wait the seasoning period though.Dig around the forums here and you'll see lots of info and suggestions.