Occasionally I drive by a property and, because it looks like it has some deferred maintenance, I'll consider selling the owner a letter expressing interest to purchase.  

. #3 to grow with a young engineering firm that has plenty of opportunity for growth and allows me to bring in my own engineering work through the real estate network that I've developed (flippers, developers, etc all need engineering services occasionally).I'm a big fan of having that W2 income that will help you qualify for loans, etc. but make sure that you don't lose focus of your long term goals, especially as you move forward in engineering.

Apart from your suggestion, I'm not sure there is any good way around that until I have a solid contact in most of the regions.I should also add that while there is occasionally a delicate balance that has to happen to avoid a conflict of interest, I prefer the listing broker/agent because they have the most information and are only 1 step removed from the seller.

But I am self managing a few rentals in Hawaii, so I still get the occasional call from tenants for small repairs.

There are some deals in Los Angeles, San Diego, and, occasionally, Orange County, but the best "bang for the buck" is the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) and up in the high desert areas of Victorville and Apple Valley.Hope this helps.

Heck,  my friends were always hanging-out but i was able to hang out occasionally because i Had to work. 

There are occasional exceptions to this but not many.

@Kelly Williams Occasionally if you know your market really well and have a responsive Realtor you may come across a steaming hot deal that for whatever reason no one else sees or that you can get an inside edge on.

@Ashley Pimsner, We run into this occasionally. 

Occasionally..... we FB the owner.