@Andreas Mathews,Good for you at looking to make a change no matter the age.

Yup. 400'is - 900's ad, was an "ice age".

The internet makes the world very small.As far as buying out of state, one challenge I did not see any other replies mention is your occupancy. 

My son (age 24) however, is an independant contractor / self employed and is trying to buy a house. 

Eg find contractors in ages out of state.

@Drew Poniewaz  I just mentioned a range of reasons why zillow and craigslist delete seller financing ads. 

I recently watched a video where Troy Kearns mentioned he could source a high-quality quartz slab for $100 from China, which got me thinking about exploring similar options.Has anyone here ever imported materials like hardwood floors, countertops, or tiles from China for a project?

I recently watched a video on social media that mentioned the way he was buying properties and yielding the benefit of the sellers low interest rate is having the seller put the property in a trust and then purchasing the trust.

I'm an independent agent here in AR and I write a lot of rental property, with ~6 preferred markets and if the properties have some issues, age, claim history etc.

Go to local meetups, search these forums for people that have mentioned that they do private lending and attend other RE events.