You can use the search feature to locate folks in your area.

With a lot of people being experts and gurus in the commercial real estate industry what are some qualities to look for when searching out a mentor.

I think what you want to do is be able search existing repositories (like biggerpockets.com, google, ... etc) to quickly find things you need.

I would make sure your financing is in place and talk with a few good commercial lenders before starting your search. 

I also have about 2 buyers on a home search for this year.

Based on my limited searching, rent values are only about 20% less in those areas and properties are probably 50% cheaper.

In my search, which entailed looking at all cities that have direct flights from Santa Ana airport (in case I need to be there), I have basically narrowed my search to Phoenix, AZ and the surrounding suburbs.Looking forward to joining this great community that has been helping millions on the quest to financial freedom!

Not knowing where to start, my wife and I contacted the county and requested a title search.

I will keep your tip in mind as we continue our search.  

This is my first post in the BiggerPockets forums - I searched through the database and didn't find an answer to this question yet, but forgive me if I overlooked it somewhere.