I'm not sure what the markets are like in Edinburgh or London, but I would look into house hacking in one of those cities once you know which one you'll be in.You definitely can invest in rentals in the US remotely, there are plenty of investors that do.

For most investors, purchasing a room condo makes no sense due to all of the associated human element risks.

@Nicholas Nakamura I’m an out of state investor.

Those are very different evaluations for what a RE Investor needs.

Go to some networking events in the area and meet other investors. 

To become a true business owner or investor, you need to leverage your time through others.

I haven't researched the accredited investor side yet but probably will look at it.

The pro development and affordable housing advocates use the term NIMBY, but I suspect it is the rare person that buys in a single family zoned area that would be thrilled to have 17 units (qp16 additional units added) in the lot next to them.My initial protege was the land source on this effort.  

Everything is harder when you do it remote, but you are competing with local investors.

My investors acquire with cash as a routine investment strategy to secure properties quickly and eliminate competing buyers using financing.