I like to be the part of new groups and simply stay connected.

Not yet we have one room filled because we known him and he stayed with us in an apt but were working on posting on Facebook and rentready but we do have an idea type of tenant we want. 

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Our current housing situation is that we are house hacking by house-sitting for our snowbird mom (so we basically have no housing payments), and we are looking to stay that way until we have to move (5-10 years?).

Focus on making sure your first property is basically maintenance-free (barring unforeseen circumstances) before thinking two or three ahead.

Part of this is on you you allowed them to move in and stay 5 years without it and trained them their behavior is acceptable.  

Do you think you’ll stay in the same market as your grow your portfolio? 

You can search land boundaries for free. 

The first discussion is usually for free.

Start with BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginners Guide (free).