Personally never heard of this scheme or way to set up transactions. 

I'm based out of Raleigh and personally own rental properties in Fayetteville, Benson and Clayton and could offer some friendly advice and help out with your journey. 

Quote from @Leonard La Rocca III: So is it common to find a conventional loan without meeting the lender in-person?

Hard to say one way or another without knowing your personal finances, goals etc., but it seems like a good deal. 

They specialized in concrete tilt up, but did a lot of time and materials work for a self made real estate tycoon who owned a lot of Federal Way.Along the way I got my CPA license and practiced in several differing sectors including doing some work with low income housing projects.As far as my start in RE, it was with buying my first personal SFR and later moving to a new residence. 

I don't personally care about checks anymore so that wasn't an important feature for me. 

We also have installed SimpliSafe (and signs about ongoing monitoring outside of the property).As someone else mentioned, it is best to have a plan not to go long stretches without checking in person.

Assuming I also use the Airstream for lodging while traveling for personal reasons, would I just take a pro-rated amount of depreciation for the amount of use that is business vs. personal?

Personally, I believe it's preferable to have stricter requirements and wait for a qualified tenant.

The only person willing to lend me money was Paulie—a guy who charged a point a week and always had a baseball bat within arm’s reach.