One of the best strategies is using other people's money, like private lenders or seller financing.

For plans that will pay off later, get into house hacking, save money for a first payment, meet people in local real estate groups and find a mentor, and put money into things that earn without much work like stock index funds or ETFs.

Talk and connect with people who know about buying homes.

Welcome to BP - lots of great people on here that can likely help. 

Mostly just people looking for handouts so they don't have to work.

We talked to some people (banker, pm, etc) about a weekly rental property but seems it would make more sense if you wanted to use the place yourself and not too concerned with making money.

I've seen many owners in Vegas get big fines for operating illegal STRs.I own 2 STRs in Big Bear CA which is about 4 hours away from Vegas - aside from buying something you can add value to, I'd absolutely recommend not getting into somewhere too remote that it's hard to find good people who can work on it.

I'm here to genuinely connect, meet new people, and help out.

Nobody’s going to send you an email saying you need to move out of your home in 30-60 days because they are selling to someone else who’s going to live there  this alone is a big value to many people  stability  Nobody’s saying you have to buy it.

I understand most people not really finding an interest in working with me, but closed mouths also don't get fed, right?