We chose these properties for cash flow opportunity and because they work nicely for house hacking because the unit you are occupying is a percentage of a smaller mortgage payment.  

And I feel your pain.On my FLA builds my GC was very well known to me and trusted if I did not have him I would have been were you are at stalled.. but for me I just paid cash for the lots and gave no deposit to the GC ( again long standing relationship) so when he finally was ready we just funded draws on completed work .

The concern with out of state investing is your money goes to down payment and property management.

A duplex or triplex could be a solid first step.Get Legal AdviceTalk to a trusted attorney before agreeing to anything like a trust.

They also take more work, are more stressful, require you to be on the hook for a monthly payment and scary amount of debt, and are hard to pull off.

Trusts- Make your bank accounts TOD time of death.  

Nabby,Best way to first get into real estate is to buy your first primary home since the down payment can be zero to 3% down.

Start building your down payment fund and check different financing options.

It will be much more difficult, you need a team where is a mutual trust. 

Trust me you do not want to be switching between PMS after you start onboarding, so do your due diligence beforehand and choose the one that best suits your needs.