From my understanding it might have to be a personal loan, which is very expensive. 

Personally prefer SFR..Not sure about DFW but do have a realtor reference for you..be sure to budget for furniture and furnishings if not sold turn-key..a seller concession is a great way to preserve capital for MTR or STR's..check in with @Joseph Chiofalo for an investor friendly lender..he's excellent at helping structure loan programs for investments.

Another pitfall is under improving properties in low income areas believing that since its a depressed area in terms of income the people will not have high standards. 

Do they need me to go into any virtual/in-person meetings?

Pay off HELCO, REPEAT.If you are an accredited investor I can discuss some Alternative investments I am personally looking at to generate income that offer tax advantages to shelter some income.

The maximum occupancy permitted in a vacation rental unit is two (2) persons per bedroom larger than 100 square feet, plus one (1) person per bedroom greater than 70 square feet but less than 100 square feet, plus two (2) additional persons, or a total of eight (8) occupants, whichever is less.The homeowner must post the required information on the property.

We no issues closing in an LLC, as a matter of fact most of my lenders will prefer it (assuming it is not your primary residence)Assuming it is not your primary residence, the easiest way to do this deal would be through a DSCR Loans.A DSCR Loan will use current rents or market rents if the property is vacant and personal tax return from you would NOT be required.It also referred to as a No Ratio Loan because your personal Debt To Income is not important.What is important is that the property can pay for itself.If we keep the LTV Low the rate for this loan can be better than a conventional loan.If you ARE Living in the property and you want to keep it... it would mostly depend on how motivated you are and how willing you'd be to "postpone gratification"The best bet is still a DSCR Loan.. which means you moving and renting the property out.We can bring in Asset Based Financing that can help with cash down (if you need it) or to pay cash for another property for you to reside in.Once you're moved out we can do the DSCR Loan at a 70% - 80% LTV or we can calculate a comfortable cash flow number.For example, max cash out that will give you $500 cashflow after a full PITI payment.Let's discuss more!

35-40% is a more standard realistic operating cost. 50% is too high.

Personally, my investment funds will be targeted elsewhere for the foreseeable future. 

I've heard good things about Oklahoma, but it is very far from CA and I personally wouldn't bet on very speculative developments across the country.