Looking forward to making connections here and meeting investors (and soon-to-be-investors) face to face once this global pandemic is over. 

For a number of years, mortgages barely made it as a line-item concern.

This entity would additionally interact with contractors and be your publicly facing LLC. 

Plus, as I said, the building is old and has deferred maintenance, so I'd be facing some large expenses in an environment of rising wages.

@Logan Lum like Steven said above, you might want to team up with someone who is very experienced, but in the meantime, I wouldn't overthink "understanding a market", I would just recommend the following:-Make sure you are working a market where there are buyers at all, meaning some of the more "C" and below grade markets have barely any investor activity. 

@Michele Velazquez I'd go with someone who isnt beholden to a single location.....say a TK provider like @Mike D'Arrigo (Pinnacle) who also lives in CA and understands the dilemma we face. 

I did see some property in 93722, 93723, 93726, 93727 within the range, and barely have some CF or break even with the current market.  

Linkedin; a listing on Loopnet with your direct phone number; Crexi, Daum, CBRE; Find LARGE construction companies that are building in your area; visit job site trailers; FACE to FACE use yours; what builder associations are in your city?

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced? 

Yes, MLS is a good resource for deals but mostly for "single base" hits since you face such a high level of competition.