California, to my pleasant surprise passed a new law that went into effect January 1 that allows property owners to file a Letter of Agency with local law enforcement which notifies them that the property is vacant.

To avoid going through the same poor experience, keep reading.Even if someone gives you a referral here, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that the PMC will meet your expectations, just because they met the expectations of the referral source.In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make when selecting a Property Management Company (PMC) is ASSUMING instead of CONFIRMING.It's often a case of not doing enough research, as they don't know what they don't know!

This sounds like a deal for a local commercial bank.

I would recommend staying in Findlay, Ohio for a while as your cost of entry is going to be much lower and you are local to the area.

Not sure if its the same in Tampa but there are some great Facebook groups here in my local area.

I would love to connect with local wholesalers who source in Birmingham and other cities in Alabama. 

You can try this site to find a local mortgage broker:https://mortgagematchup.com/ 

My plan is to assume what his balance is as a subject to and possibly paying cash over as a seller finance and meet the payments by tenants that are in place.

We actually just did a free webinar (local real estate developers) focused on the fact that developers don't need licenses or certifications BUT they do need strategic partners with those and their expertise to complete projects.

Maybe you could contact a local STR management company and work for them for free to get some idea of what is to manage a STR.