Texas is probably the most veteran-friendly state in the country. 

If you really are looking for someone private then the best way to meet them is at REIA type meetings create a personal relationship then move forward.Other wise your wasting your time and your deals.. simply contact a very good hard money lender in your area that is real.. so you can take the deals down and make money.SOCAL is full of reputable HML and HML rates in CA for experienced folks are the cheapest in the country... 2 and 8 1 and 9  that kind of thing  expect to have 25% Cash into the deal .If you have NO cash then find a cash partner.. lenders are not generally going to make loans without you having significant skin in the game...

low mortgage arrears and default rates;size of {most} markets across the country;culture of turning to realtors to sell houses (this is slowly changing a little);amount of work involved in finding and reaching {receptive} property owners due to privacy laws; To list a few reasons ... 

That's the first step.Here is a link to every property appraiser and public records search in the country.

I am very open to investing all over the country so this is of interest to me. 

I am out of the country until Sunday, and they are saying I need to sign a new disclosure.

I know Porsche s automatics.And I will venture to guess I will be one of the few Accredited Lyft drivers in the country  LOL

Welcome aboard.BP is a great conduit for RE investment advice and insights.As a side note, my company is a private buyer and private lender on lower ARV $ SFR properties throughout the country. 

I think its a fabulous place for buy and hold for two reasons. 1. the rent to gross price is very high compared to most places in the country.

If your primary focus is cash flow, then there are many different ways to achieve that, it's all about how much time and energy you can afford to give to the investment.That being said, there are great rental markets all over the country (thanks to @Ryland Taniguchi for the shout-out to Birmingham!).