When you go to these events, use your ears more than your mouth. 

My plan is to milk this cash cow forever, do $40k cash out refi in 6 mouths, use the money to purchase multi family properties.

The horse's mouth answer here will come from the city's planning and zoning department.Go visit with them and ask what the process is.  

They are both happier about that :).Will be looking at my second duplex this week and hopefully making an offer. 

I can't tell you how many people ask me to diagnose them on the spot in the grocery store (if they haven't already diagnosed themselves via webMD lol).I'm sure everyone has heard the saying "Better to be thought an idiot then to open one's mouth and remove all doubt", well, when you make statements like you have in this post regarding 99.9% of Realtors being unethical you have removed all doubt.I don't take offense to you insulting a Realtor specifically, I'm annoyed by the ignorance it takes to make a blanket statement as you have done, it sets off alarm bells in my logical mind.Haven't you heard that 100% of all real estate investors are Scum Bags?  

Direct mail, door knocking, cold calling, craigslist ads, word of mouth, instagram, facebook, twitter.

Word of mouth referrals would he a good place to start.

A lot of deals go on through word of mouth in soflo - like everything else it seems like you have to know someone.

This lot is on a high demand lake and lots/houses are scarce, as most lots and homes never make it to market - they are sold through word of mouth. 

I realize they're being a little closed-mouth about it, but that becomes a chance to "take the deal away from them": "If I knew what problem you need to solve, I could try to help.