My agent suggested that I put 10% as my due diligence to win the property.

Based one the description you have provided on your current financial standing, a HELOC may be your best bet if you cannot find a partner.

It depends on where you are geographically and what your bet is.

Many of the cities on your list are in the Southeast, which is perfect if you want to bet on appreciation but not that great if you want a steady cash flow, if your goal is to generate some passive income target the midwest, and stick to solid suburban B areas, don't make the same mistake as many other OOS investors did chasing high double-digit returns in C-D areas, these returns only exist on paper. 

I bet you could find something nice to househack and then pay yourself rent for a change. 

Hang tough....I've been through similar to you and I bet a lot on here have as well.....

You can't win if you aren't playing your cards.

I'll bet @paulsandhu will have a take, but I was just thinking back as I was answering another post and had to chuckle....So what are some oddities you've seen in houses that you've bought to flip or rent?

Thank you for sharing your story and wishing you the bets of luck. 

@Caleb Stevens unless you need some serious deep cleaning on really expensive carpets then your best bet is to rent one at home depot for a fraction of the price.