They all tend to look alike and as soon as one sells out, they build another one next door or down the street. 

Never heard of closing connection, but make sure anyone is underwritten by one of the big boys.

However, I am in escrow to buy a home, but my plan with this one is to rehab and turn it into a midterm rental as my very first buy-and-hold.

There are a lot of real estate meetups/groups that you can find happening in NYC and surrounding areas with a quick google search - I actually host a small one every month as well you're welcome to attend to network with folks. 

My thought was one roll per person plus one extra—the house sleeps eight, so we supply nine rolls.

After doing some reading and research I settled on partnering with a few turnkey providers and am very happy and excited to say that I have purchased 3 properties from 3 different providers (one is a duplex) and am embarking on what I feel is a bit of an experiment.  

Many of the tenants I’ve had are ones moving to the area from out of state.

Not really a fan of the nationwide shops, or even the ones that say they service a huge area. 

I know one guy who brags about $1B in AUM.

One of the biggest limitations I am seeing in the fix and flip market, at least in Colorado, is the requirement of a registered contractor to be on the permit for a rehab project.