So these platforms will be looking to teach people how to source deals,  use their experience and soft ware etc.   

I would appreciate hearing about your experience, if you have a few minutes sometime. 

I plan to start house hacking not too long from now but am currently trying to talk to local investors and talk about there experiences with investing locally.

I wouldn't even consider this scenario if you have no business managing a flip, and you have never done renovation projects, as that is an arena where you need to have built experience and connections to just be OK.Let's consider that you decide to save just enough ($75k) and grab a $300k single-family rental with 20% cash down (plus closing costs) and you just rent it out (not owner-occupied) and you have limited reserves.  

You want to look for demonstrated experience which is much more important than location. 

In my experience offering GAP loans, I typically charged between 12-15% interest and 3 points due to the loan size.

Dave must have screened out anyone who had debt before he interviewed them because I don't believe his experience could logically be extrapolated to society at large.

Anyone that tells you different isn't giving you a realistic picture.

Hi Summer - here's my experience as well.

Whichever path you decide to take, make sure you set realistic expectations so that you don't get frustrated and quit.