I signed up about 4-weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to attend any of the meetings yet due to travel.

Just look at (sometimes misleading) travel brochures and sites.

I took a road less traveled (non-RE) for my profession, but now that the kids are old enough to allow me to have an out-of-the-home hobby, I am launching into local RE.

If yes, do I need to travel there to do this or it can be done remotely?

My hubby and I used to live in the west side of Phoenix valley and we would always travel to Prescott for just mini getaways.

I charge a flat monthly fee simply to be "on call", then charge a minimum fee to travel to the property for issues that require my physical presence with a per hour fee over the minimum.

It opens you up to many different markets, it allows you to travel if that is your thing, you can homestead if you find a place you want to call home for a while.

If an investor like myself pays $37/month, will they really find good deals with decent spreads, or is it all smoke and mirrors?

Then to reinforce it, after we go through all of that and each of the additional forms required by the state (smoke detector, lead paint, insurance, etc) I have a quick 1 page recap that I review with the tenant. 

Sincerely, Landlord Other things that have worked well is to include air filters and smoke detector changes in the lease.