I do think they were trying to have a legit business, but I think it was out of hand and they weren't able to manage it properly.

I have come across a few investing academies that help you set up an LLC and pretty much hold your hand in setting up your first arbitrage or Airbnb property.

It's way easier when you have a turnover.My wife could manage this and she's hands off with the tenants. 

Closing off a den on the other hand could work.

Flat is easiest to touch up but I'd rather wipe and touch up eggshell than usually repaint a whole wall due to dirty hands, etc.

The purchase documents are not GREC forms- they can be any forms - just like from any investor.The closing attorney holds the escrow deposit.

instead, why not find a market 1-2 hours away where you can be hands-on / in-person?

I still have enough room with my VA entitlement for a buy and hold in a couple of years, so I'd rather save it for later!

This is a good question.I found that meetups are kind of like you described not much really happens there and for sure REIAs and their monthly meeting kind of the same people talking about the same thing then bring in ( at least what i have seen with the PDX reia) folks that are presenting on things that worked decades ago.. and want to sell their stuff for a few grand.For me personally the best networking hands down was SF Bay Area events  San Jose Reiaand LA  FIBI events.folks in those markets are very real estate centric and generally more experienced and in San Jose so many tech folks that have done really really well.. maybe not in RE but have done great in TECH and have quite a bit of bandwidth for investments..

The first thing the technician did was take a toilet tank cover off and run his hand across the bottom.