I had called a few who didn't understand the concepts I was mentioning. 

I agree with Laura, if this is a long term rental it would be hard to convince the tenants that they have cameras on the property that the owner controls even with all the stuff that you mentioned (does not turn, only for surveillance for crimes etc.). 

She is very old school, she mentioned that the seller would only contribute to the “traditional” closing costs, around 2k 

As mentioned in the initial post, I am still new to all this so any insights help!

Quote from @Travis Timmons: @Jonathan Greene no mention of a participation trophy and not making it seem easy.

I am sorry @jasmine.Andrew Kai sounds gray; if it is easy like he mentioned, EVERYBODY will do it

There are two idea I’m batting around in my head right now to get started on my REI journey – I can do it purely on the investing side and become a private lender or a source of hard money loans to builders/developers (maybe that looks like funding a construction loan collecting interest payments while buying time to better understand the dynamics and build relationships) or I can JV/partner with a builder and get equity (upside on a flip/sale) which would be more hands on.Curious what ya’ll input, what you think is the best route for me to dip my toes into REI given my aforementioned situation and current market.

I think as @Michael Plaks mentioned I think you need to clear your head and just focus on deals right now. 

Closing on my first rental property in 2 weeks and would love a copy of the .pdf you mentioned above.

Not to mention, you've now become reliant on a 3rd party for income streams, and yes, they do occasionally run short of funding and, yes, they have no compunction with telling you to pound sand until they get new funding.