Would be grateful if any locals or investors in the area could share some pointers. 

I’m local in SA and have midterm rentals here on the NW side

I'm a local lender in St.

I have a small health care benefit from my local government career, and I have VA health care since I'm ex-military but it's not as good as it used to be (too many people in the system, too few providers at the VA) so I am planning on buying a supplement on the marketplace when open enrollment comes in November.

Since myself And another partner are local we plan to live in the first one while we understand the process of what it takes to build and get some experience under our belt then the plan is to scale from there, really just need to get our feet in the door to which I appreciate the connect with Jennie.

I would be talking to other investors in your local investment club or network.

Hello Frederick,These forums are a good place to start.I also suggest looking up local meets/Events to begin networking.

The advantages of the 401k for the real estate investor and lower fees are very attractive. 

The high visibility of listings on these platforms often leads to intense competition, making it challenging to secure deals that align with your investment criteria.I highly recommend identifying a target market and cultivating relationships with local wholesalers operating in that area.

You seem pumped up to do this, but do it first at a local meetup (in terms of connecting with people) or else you are just going to get a bunch of people trying to sell you services or on how good they are.