McElhannon: I'm curious on peoples go to approach to secure financing for an investment property - use a broker? 

I'm entirely new to real estate investing, but I have a high risk appetite because I have seen other people achieve amazing things that many say cannot be done.

There's no step by step guide but there are key things : Learn: RE strategies, what interests you, what do people in your area need.Connect: find a mentor, accountability group and be around those doing what you want to do.Help: solve problems- do people need dealflow, property mgmt, construction expertise, etc. 

Your biggest resource will be from people.

People come here, buy, move away and try to keep the house as a rental.

Because Airbnb only makes money when the guest books on Airbnb.Hence, they want the price to be cheapest on their platform, so people book on Airbnb instead of elsewhere, and want their properties to be able to compete with hotel prices (even after cleaning fee and service fees). 

I know some people use TransUnion SmartMove.

I guess I am just comparing it more to people who buy out of state with cash.  

Heck, some people might even pay more for the 'cool factor' of living in a 'small home'....I'd give it a go since you're a veteran of this RE stuff.

Buying OOS just adds several layers of risk for most people and most places.