I’d suggest you look at your local market and see if you can find anyone that way. 

The ability to get funding in just a few days can make a world of difference, allowing investors to act quickly and lock in the best opportunities.I’m curious, in your experience, what strategies have you found most effective for building strong relationships with reliable direct lenders?

I'm going to reiterate what's already been mentioned above, but I'm going to actually give you examples of why it's relevant to you to find a U.S. tax professional.1 - You're going to need to file U.S. taxes once you have property down here, there's federal filings, state filings, and sometimes local filings too2 - Tons of tax treaties between the U.S. and Canada that are easy to miss and can cost you a lot of money (important one with rentals - effectively connected income - if the professional you talk to doesn't know what this is, run away)3 - The amount of days you spend in the U.S. needs to be tracked and if you go over a threshold, all of your worldwide income could be taxable by the U.S.4 - Selling real property means up to 15% of your sales proceeds might not be available to you for years (FIRPTA)5 - Lots of nuance at the state and local levels, which both want to take as much money from you as possibleMain takeaway here is that you should find a U.S. based tax person.

Quote from @Chris Seveney: For those experienced in private lending: This question was posed to me in my membership group from an investor:What strategies have been most effective for scaling your loan volume to $5M+ per month?

Regarding your mastermind idea...I strongly suggest you come to our Chicago meetup this coming Saturday...we switched up to a mastermind format, and if you like it, we could figure out a way to partner up and start a suburb version.Here is a link to the meetup:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/521/topics/1230572-chic...RSVP'd thanks for the heads up🙂 

Here are a few suggestions on how you can maximize the wealth of information available: Check out the blogs and podcasts, or take advantage of the search feature (magnifying glass).

I’d suggest chatting with your friend about what’s been working for him, and maybe ask for some recommendations on building a solid local team3.

Here are some suggestions to help you secure funding and move closer to realizing your vision:1.

I would suggest getting another full-time job for the time being and investing/doing STR on the side until you can fully and comfortably replace the income that you would be receiving from your job.Is your LTR in need of repair?

My suggestions:* Requiring code compliance and safety equipment is absolutely valid and should be part of the regulations* Requiring owners live within 15 miles is not necessary since poor hosts whether they're local or distant will violate the 3-5 warning system and earn a suspension.