Understand any provisions within the docs that impact how and when the interest rate can change.2) You do not want a note that can be called for anything other than standard, typical events of default.

Go to conferences, meetups, local events (in the niche you want to focus on) and meet as many people as you can and tell them your goals, vision and plan. 

And an event section for networking opportunities.

What usually happens in these events?

The reason it always seems to happen is the appraiser doesn't want to be in hot water in the event the property is foreclosed and so they tend to appraise the property VERY CLOSE to the asking price - all my properties that have loans have been within 2K of the appraisal price. 

You can see there's opposing forces at work here.

I've never heard of a hard money lender going after anything other than the property in the event of a default and since it's a business endeavor I don't see it affecting your personal credit, but you might want to ask around and get more opinions to ensure that's the case.

There are other ways to invest in this market that I am exploring but I am also not opposed to investing in STR in out-of-state markets because of the potential for very high cash flow.

In the event I can't find the client's number using skiptracer, I guess my only option would be to contact the lawyer.

Have you checked out the local Events section of the site?