Reach out to all members of the team, bc you may be able to leverage those relationships to meet the brokers.

You also get to run a ton of comps for clients on houses they'll never buy.It can be very rewarding, as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial.

I have a very good relationship with the kids because I’ve helped scare away squatters and kept them informed of things that happen at the house, but I need a creative solution that helps them and helps me too.

I’ll provide any value that I can just to hop on a call and or build a relationship!

Due to current family situation, moving and house hacking isn’t possible, so that’s out.For those much more experienced and wiser than I am, do you think it would be better to still focus on my local market (considering I know the area and local economy, can do some of the work myself to save cash on a rehab and can utilize local and existing relationships) and find a way to create cash-flowing deals to achieve my goal, or look for a cheaper market with a lower cost-barrier to entry where cash flow is already more prevalent?

Cashflow properties are great only when you know what your property is really worth and have a good relationship with the tenants, it’s not worth the headaches believe me!

You're taking a risk by not learning through smaller deals and building relationships, but you know what they say about taking more risk...... more reward. 

I am hoping to get some recommendations on the following:Option 1 - do not change anything for 3-4 months until there is an established relationship with the tenantsOption 2- immediately impose at least a $30-$40/month increase mainly to address the utility costs and leave tenants on a month to month.Option 3 - again, wait for a couple of months and stagger rent increases ($50-$60) to the tenants which will still be well below market rents.Certainly open to any other recommendations.

You should also include several other benefits for property #2: appreciation, tax benefits, experience, relationships, etc. 2.

I plan on buying a townhome next year and likely another the year after, so I would like to start building a relationship with a good accountant I can grow my portfolio with and someone who can shed some insight of things I can do as I grow to save on taxes.