It takes a little time, but you get to maintain control.

During the entirety of 2021, I hosted monthly meetups in Fairview Heights, IL (just outsde of Belleville) that brought in real estate investors from the metro east.

IE they just work in the NPN space and try to work the notes and ending up owning probably happens maybe not the majority of the time but quite often..

Go to a couple of real estate investor meetups and make connections.

* What is the best strategy for first-time investors: Own or Arbitrage?

Your a licensed R.E. agent, that is NOT a solo thing, it means your an extension of that broker, and anything you do in Real Estate has possible MAJOR implications from both the broker and or real estate regulatory boards. 

I am in the Tampa bay area now but grew up in Kentucky and travelled to Indy many times!! 

There are houses that can be lived in and fixed up, or turned into multi-unit spaces (such as terraced houses with converted 'stables' at the back) for living in and earning income at the same time.

Despite facing setbacks, including a year-long renovation process, I tackled the repairs, improved the interiors, and addressed all concerns.

Quote from @Paul LaValley: I live in Tucson and know Tucson really really well so I want to start here and then jump up to include Phoenix area.