As others have indicated is either use full cash to purchase your property or have a trustworthy US partner who has their skin in the game as well.

And that was the time when I was serious scammed by an unethical wholesaler and it's set my investing back years trying and sort it out.Mark Ramsey is right, the wholesaler probably had some pressure to meet a deadline, but if you were feeling that there was something more going on, or that he wasn't completely trustworthy, then he probably wasn't.Never ignore your gut.

If you let investors here on BP know what market you will be investing in, then there is a very good chance that someone will be willing to assist you with trustworthy contractors and property managers, maybe even an occasional drive-by of your property.

There are of course additional skills rehabbers need, such as finding trustworthy contractors, knowing how long homes in certain areas take to sell, etc., but much of the skill set overlaps.The large benefit of starting off in wholesaling is you can learn about the business without risking your capital.

I feel I have a decent understanding of how to run the numbers (you get better with it through experience) and I understand how important it is to have a plan and to find qualified and trustworthy GCs.

would the $25k i have in the bank and a 20% down payment be enough to convince a lender that i am a trustworthy borrower even with relatively low income?

A trusted contractorIf it's #3, you should still have either #1 or #2 checking in at least once or twice a day, as no contractor is going to be as trustworthy as you or your representative.Personally, these days, we have between 1-5 flips going on at once, and have long-term contractors who we trust.

As long as you can find trustworthy and competent people for your team, distance is no problem.

Eventually down the line, from what I understand, is you will eventually build a trust worthy team that you know you can rely on.

The only good outcome is was that we found an excellent and trustworthy contractor (albeit a bit expensive), and should be able to do much better next time.