I am looking to network with as many knowledgable people as possible and make long lasting business relationships.

Hi @Desiree King ,Welcome, check out TRIG for lots of networking and education.www.trigofva.com

With inventory low, you can still probably accomplish what you want, it's just going to take a little more work networking, being at the right place at the right time, etc.. 

We eventually moved on to a larger house, but because we we were still in a down economy we kept the original  house and rented it out for a few years hoping the walls didn’t come crashing down on our tenants!

Otherwise they would step up to a larger unit.

Check out DIG, it will help you network with the right people.

. $500k) to purchase something larger and take out a loan on the remainder. 4.

I also will be joining my first meetup/network event here in Orlando, FL tomorrow night.

Most people have not been doing it for 10 years or more (maybe why you haven't gotten a big response), but you can still network and get a lot of great information on here and some of the meetup groups.

I would also look for partners or as others have mentioned, network with syndication companies and invest with a few of them.