Back then, prices were much better, and turnkey marketers could make a decent fee.As prices increased, many turnkey providers had to move to less desirable areas (I know people are always looking blame other people but in reality blame it on yourself for being the investors that picked bad areas and did not do due-diligence and buy assets where the numbers worked with 10-20% economic vacancy), and now that gap has essentially disappeared.

So they are often not desirable for a primary residence or even a long term rental. 

No thanks they say, visit us where we live, but we have no desire to visit the city. 

You can learn from the sponsor on the deals and then go out on your own if you desire or later decide you are happy to keep investing and not put in the work yourself.

Some good answers here so far but one I haven't seen yet is desirability.

On the flip side, having more choice in location with an existing product could be advantageous to both his personal life and the earnings potential; add in the second unit having the potential of being a STR/MTR and location becomes even more important.The contract/permit side CAN be challenging location by location; assuming he's working with someone who knows what they're doing, Raleigh makes it easier to get permits for these larger "small scale" projects than Durham.

If you don't have a firm commitment, how will you handle a less desirable loan?

I'm kind of in your boat -- willing to jump in the deep end and do the work in order to earn financial freedom.

. - typical due diligence items to gain confidence and assess credibility before turning over any of my hard earned money.

The challenge with many syndications that focus on the typical accredited investor (or sophisticated investor) is the actual partners will earn out their "investment" many times over as soon as a deal closes.