My wife and I live in Las Vegas NV full time but we have a home in a small town of Alabama called Grand Bay (near the MS border, right outside Mobile). 

Al Williamson (based in Sacramento) is also a good person for you to meet.

@Brian Zaug Tenants can send payments by paypal for free if they send it as a gift or funds for friends and family (as opposed to marking it as a payment for goods and services) Al the tenant has to do is set up a paypal account and link it to their bank account, after that all they need is your email address to send funds. 

-Does anyone know the Birmingham, Alabama area well enough or recommend a Commercial/Residential Agent that I could speak with?

Actuals D-E-A-L-S are much harder to come by.Happy Hunting but get educated first.

He runs the  Alabama REIA ("AlaREIA")  and is a pretty cool guy as well.

I am currently looking for a home under $35K  to flip in the Montgomery, AL area (where I am working).

We purchased our first home near Fort Rucker Al. back in 2000.

I am purchasing my first rental property near Huntsville, Alabama through a turnkey provider.  

Feel free to PM for more info if you’d like to chat about it.In July of 2017, I visited Spartan Invest in Birmingham, AL and got to meet the team there.