Start with people you know, people you work with.

For me, the KEY WAS FINDING ROCKSTAR TEAM MEMBERS who are amazing at what they do...I've found that Chicago has a ton of people in our community who are more than willing to help each other out and GROW OUR COMMUNITY TOGETHER!

If people are not willing to a small amount on a background check, that's a clear sign you should not deal with these people.

For me its the following1. copies of my professional licenses  so people can check up on me. 

I show people my projects all the time. 

I joined to learn more through reading the  discussion boards and by offering my services to people in the DFW area. 

Utilizing meetups, you could get referrals and meet real people in your area.

For most people, that will be in their own backyard.

People, even in this economy, would give you a healthy penny for it. 

I have sold a bit over 50 million of the northside 2-4 units so seen lots of day 1 analysis vs long term, they tend to not look great on paper in year 1 but rents ramp up each year and they run under 3% vacancy here so actually bring high returns over the long run.