Murrells Inlet, in my opinion, is the better strategic route but you need to check out both and vet themselves for your risk tolerance.

I don't think you have to go that route nor would I necessary suggest that in DFW. 

Whether you spend time networking, reading books, watching videos or connecting on bigger pockets or if you spend cash hiring a mentor, maybe partnering up with or doing free intern work for a real estate investor; whichever route you decide to go investing in yourself is one of the best investments you can make. 

If my business owner bank statements did not gain me an approval, I was going to go the hard money route.

I decided not to go that route and start looking for a good PM in Kansas City to buy some cash flow houses through and manage.

If you go this route, make sure there is a very very very wide spread because it's so high risk and easy to lose.

Another route could be private lending, where you provide capital to other investors in exchange for interest returns.Have you considered any of these options, or are you leaning toward a specific strategy?

I would go that route if I was looking to invest!

For lenders, I have access to private money lenders or if you want to go the traditional route, I recommend checking out Coast to Coast - Jeff Weller. 

Seller will be taking a 30k+ loss with this route.325k with 50K down to seller, 3 years of payments $1600/month, and a balloon payment of 215k at the end of 3 years.Benefits to me: (1) 10k less downpayment, (2) with the conventional route, the loan would be at 228k after 3 years of payments, so I will gain additional equity with the 2nd option since I will owe 215k (presumably I will have to refinance at that time).Benefit to seller: she gets over asking price, 50K upfront and $300/month of cash flow.Does this offer and structure sound reasonable?