Any suggestions? 

My suggestion is reach out to these businesses and get a hold of the shared access easement. 

It is more challenging to get mortgages on properties that are of lower values, which is why I am suggesting local smaller banks, who have a mandate to serve the local communities. 

I suggest reading the forums, blogs, webinars etc about it.Basically they are notes backed by real estate where the person stopped paying for one reason or another.

Does anybody have any recommendations or suggestions of other services I should try or good/ bad experiences using furnished finder?

He suggested shopping around with other GC's to see if they could beat the numbers he was getting.

We as a firm have investors working with us who have rental properties all over the US big and small.Finding a real estate-focused tax professional and one who can help with advisory and grow with you would be my suggestion to focus your efforts on finding.

I highly suggest that you tune in to the BiggerPockets Podcast and connect with the local lenders and brokers of the market you choose.

They suggested an alternative method, but I would need to provide more information, like passport, which I refused.

As the city continues to thrive and adapt to changing market dynamics, savvy investors stand to benefit from the opportunities that abound in this vibrant Gulf Coast community.