In terms of fix things up, hire a property manager to take care that for you. 

That will pay over time.One trick is to skip expensive items like a new roof, which you get nothing for in terms of ARV.

Though the closing costs of the refi you have to bear in mind too, hopefully what you would save in terms of interest rate reduction pays for those costs in a year or two.

In terms of where to invest, many investors are investing in the midwest in places like Milwaukee, WI.

More specifically, I would like to know how it works, where to look for partners, and what a partnership would look like in terms of what I’m getting out of a deal and what they are getting out of the deal.

You gotta know what you're looking for in terms of Purchase Price, Rehab, ARV and what kind of profit margins youre willing to accept.

In terms of other brokerages, for full-time agents who can and want to be in an office environment, sometimes the big box are better (KW, Re/Max), but the splits and caps (if they have them) will be terrible.

@Joe Villeneuve using dollars , using cash absolutely increases myCash flow in terms of dollars .

In terms of finding a broker, just look around... 

In terms of raising rents, this needs to be done carefully especially if you don't want the tenant to move out in the short term.