She'd probably be able to put you on the line as a co-borrower.I've done this personally and it's been great for me and my situation!

Is 10-15 miles too big of an area when determining the unit count per person?

I would network in person or in FB groups. 2-3 months to close is crazy.

I flew in town, ended up setting it up - they finally hired a task rabbit person, as their team would just deliver a box and leave.

This means, on average, that this person is facing foreclosure or bankruptcy, and has no other reasonable options.

Personally when buying rentals I tend to buy in neighborhoods that I feel like I wouldn't personally mind living in and when I look for tenants I try to look for people that not only pass my screening but also I personally don't dislike.  

DSCR will help if you are tapped out of conventional loans and you don't qualify for a traditional loan based on your personal DTI.

Building wealth quickly is not an enjoyable experience—you have to go through some pain to experience the reward at the end.Trust me, from personal experience: the quicker the wealth building = the more pain.

I let the booking expire and figured it was a troll.I then get another request from the same person about a month later for the same dates.

More due diligence and follow up, does this person have a job that's consistent for at least a year?