Are there regulatory barriers to this type of arrangement? 

You probably have a trusted person who can arrange for a video call. 

Else the tendency to not care and not treat the arrangement with respect, may arise.  

You might utilize these extra cash for a down payment on a different house.Another good alternative is seller financing, which may be arranged directly with the seller and may entail a down payment and interest-bearing payments of the remaining amount over time.

Smart buyers understand the value of a Buyer's agent and it certainly is not just to open doors.  95% of my clients are out of state investors purchasing in a market that they do not know nor live in, they count on me to walk the property, access repairs, provide comps and short term rental numbers, arrange and be present for inspections, as well as my ability to assist them getting their short term rental set up for them long distance.  

I'd contact them have them arrange to have someone come out and move the contents into storage so you can get possession of the place. 

Arranging financing, forecasting cash flow (it's not "rent minus the mortgage"), managing contractors, managing tenants, managing property managers, dealing with permits and city inspectors - it's a lot more than the average person realizes.

Comparing the live-in flip approach to refinancing, the former offers the potential for higher profits through sweat equity but demands significant time and effort for renovations and alternative living arrangements during the process.

There will be a rise of flat fee brokerages (offering limited services) and creative compensation arrangements, such as RE consultants for time or a specific transaction.

Given that the borrower had given us sufficient time to complete the loan processing and clear all title conditions, we were able to arrange the financing with one of our multi-family lenders at a rate that was actually lower than the prevailing rate when the borrower initially contacted us.