If you want to use a local company to manage your rental instead of self-managing, I can put you in contact with a great team!

Have you tried attending any FREE local real estate meet ups in your area?

The proximity to CA and the population exodus from there continues to grow the population.   

Thank you.You will have to pay a little more if you go the HM route, and for the first one or two if you have a good local, conventional lender that will do that you would be okay, but HML are great for speed, efficiency, and some quirks, depending on the lender.It might also depend on your capital and how much you are wanting to spend on the first one.

We were currently spending $850/mo for a local 1000 sqft garage space that was being used for storage and shop purposes.

Uses that also target the business incubator residents/visitors and remote workers might work, e.g. many years ago I'd thought about doing a sort of subscription-based co-working space - something of that sort may do well initially, but may be much more successful in about 5 years as the area continues to redevelop.Current resident population within 1/2-mile is lower-income.

Not sure if someone out there or a local company specializes in these type of transactions?

There're lot of family that rather renting as long as their kid is within this school district.and here's another story, this is a condo that was 1.2 mil in 2016 and recently sold for 600k-ish in best location in the world (for the homeless lol) :https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Francisco/1075-Market-St-94103... so yea, school district and local gov. has huge impact of condo appreciation (and de-appreciation) lol also if on want sample of condo complex that the HOA is simply broken and the homeowner is basically wiped out, there're bunch of them in Concord. 

To kickstart your journey, consider networking with local investors to gain valuable insights.

@Jamie Parker  I would start talking to local banks/credit unions that do investment property construction loans once you have identified the project and have some details.