I would like to broaden my knowledge in those directions.At this point, I'm not immediately interesting in acquiring new properties, but would like to in the future. 

I was wondering what other Rhode island investors use as rule of thumbs to quickly fish out bad and better investments.  

i know a lot o you are not hands on with your properties, but I for one, am, the sewer lateral issue has been a big one for me, so i purchased a 50 foot USB drain camera on Ebay for $15 or $20 attach it to my electrical fish tape, and inspect the line as part of my rehab, or prior to purchasing if possible. it works for me.

Hopefully, you are actively marketing (fish don't jump into the boat) and regular contact with leads who are principals and discuss your situations on these forums. 

We have some exposure to the architecture/contractor ecosystem through my wife's work and have a family member who is our MLS access point, but we are hoping to deepen our knowledge and broaden our network.I've found a few Minneapolis related posts so thanks in advance to the folks who started those threads as I've already found them very informative.

So the only value proposition you bring is you found the deal and will marshal it but you have no skin in the game other than time.. that is the hurdle you need to over come.Personally since I am the person your looking for I would not do this for someone who is knew.So to that end I would be looking for a equity partner FIRST.. get some deals and experience then you can go fishing for gap.. you can show them your done deals and your success's. and you will have some capital to put in even if its nominal.so this Gap theme is just soup de jour for I have no money and trying to do no money down 100% leveraged deals.

Learn real estate first, not how to deal in real estate, then learn finance and broaden your knowledge in related areas that effect real estate transactions, like business law.

I am from San Luis Obispo county in California and in my free time I love to hunt and fish.

I feel I'm in the same boat as you, as we have rental properties and we're trying to broaden our outlook on RE investing.

So many questions I feel like a small fish in a huge ocean trying to find my way along..