DTI had become my hurdle, making regular plain vanilla mortgages difficult.

As far as saturation goes when the boom was hitting we started seeing regular homes and even mobile homes get converted to “cabin/chalet” rentals.  

Kudos to your regular buyer agent for "stepping aside" and staying out of a transaction where he/she might not be needed. 

One reason they should be able to do that is literally because they manage a lot of properties and can toss contractors business on a regular basis.

If it is a regular rental, draw up paperwork that clearly outlines how much money they lent you, when it will be paid back and how much (eg if you buy a house for $400K and 10 years later they move out and it sells for $500K-do they get a percentage of the profit (after taxes and costs)?

Would prefer to do something closer to home so I can avoid having to get on a plane to monitor the deal. 

Notice may be given by: (A) regular mail; (B) certified mail, return receipt requested; (C) personal delivery to any resident; (D) personal delivery at the property to any occupant over 16 years old; (E) electronic mail delivery to the email address used by the Tenant to submit the lease application.

I have been reaching out to him for a while now, getting free resources from him which he regularly posts about and also chatting, he has given me great advice and his resources were really helpful.

Yet courts do it regularly, and their decisions often reference intentions, as interpreted by the judge.From this angle, it is useful to guess an intention of a particular tax law before trying to use it to your advantage.

Honestly if you want to invest, you are better off having a 9-5 that will give you a good, regular income and allow you to buy rentals.