Or do I need to change the structure of my LLC and put the contractors I hire as employees? 

One downfall is 203K is not a super easy program when it comes to processing and time frame.

If you are an investor looking to branch off and diversify your portfolio beyond your local borders, I highly suggest you find an investor friendly agent to help guide you through the process of finding your next deal. 

Does anyone have experience with this process and care to share how much of a lift (or decline) they saw after making the switch?

Youtube literally holds your hand throughout the entire process. 

Hello, i’ve been hearing different investors talk about a seasoning period when refinancing out of hard money during the BRRRR process. can anyone help me dive a little deeper on what this is/mean?

That said, each individual lender will vary slightly in HOW they underwrite expenses for your DSCR, so it's very important to ask each potential lender about their process.

If the price point is feasible I'd advise to do your first flip locally that way you can build systems and processes and gain the experience of doing a flip while being able to monitor close by.

Need to put processes in place even with property management.

It's typically a double skip process, first to skip trace the registered owner/manager/agent of the LLC or trustee of the trust.