, buy one now with option on others to get a foot in the door and establish a relationship.  

Most major investors require you to hold the loan for a certain period of time for a few reasons -buys them time to sell your loan on the secondary market -bankers lose their commission if a loan is refinanced with another investor/lender within that 6 month period -required vesting is part of federal regulation  that keeps an individual from essential making a living by doing constant cash-out refis -if you refinance or pay off the loan in the first 6 months, typically you will not incur any pre-payment penalty..but the bank does and it eats that cost-required vesting allows you to establish payment history that shows on credit 3.

So in my case I specifically set up an account with a bank to establish credibility and demonstrated track record.  

Commercial agents that can stick in there once they get established make KILLLER money.. and retire very wealthy as a general rule, they are on the ground floor of the bigger deals.. and believe me most of the great deals never get to market.Put time and energy into becoming a RE professional .. not some wholesaling wanna bee because you think you can get in with no money no credit no experience...

I had no idea that there was actually a thriving online social network built around real estate investing.

Some older established high end communities have boilers for example, ultimatley the transition is to to forced air however in some cases you may want tor retain the boiler system as it is a "lifestyle choice" in that area (this is merely one example).

I can help you establish credability with others outside of our world. 

As you already know, there are areas in Socal that already have a pretty established Asian population.

Even so, I would never use the word "partner" because that is a legal term describing a formal business relationship, it is not established  by casual dealings.

Aside from establishing whether a specific property is well priced, the currency, taxation, legal framework and property management areas will be the most important ones to research.