Has anyone had experience using this financing, or can recommend a similar financing alternative without the overhead of joining an inner circle?

TIA.Hey Hunter, I'd recommend Tyler Hay with Ohio Renovation Solutions.

Would definitely recommend. 

With a budget of $300K-$400K, you could potentially find single-family homes or small multi-units in those areas.I'd recommend researching rental demand near universities like Duke or NC State or even checking out neighborhoods with strong job growth near tech hubs.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

That said, I highly recommend speaking with a local professional in the DFW area to get insights tailored to your specific goals.

Do you have any particular meetups you especially recommend?

Having a long-term rental while living abroad is do-able.Flipping houses while abroad, in my opinion, more difficult, especially if its your first go around with real estate.I would recommend taking a flight and staying in the area for a week and inspect the neighborhoods and make connections.You can reach out to @Elenis Camargo who has a PM company in Jacksonville.Best of luck though.

@Wiley Hood to be honest, with all the new regulations around documentation for cost segregation that has come out, I recommend having a professional do them.

BP has done such a great job of promoting SFR investing to the masses, that those masses have pushed up real estate prices to where it's now DIFFICULT to cashflow right away.Keep going, but understand you won't get rich in real estate overnight - it's a long-term wealth building strategy.For the short-term, recommend joining a few in-person investor meetings if possible, otherwise online ones.