The book was way over my head technically, so I knew that spending the money on the course wasn't the best choice for me... just my two cents. :-)

You do have a choice to pay for a membership if you want.  

Belmont has a huge amount of duplexes and is really popular with investors.

Sorry agents, but if I had a choice I would cut out the middle-man(men) too. 

But as you point out, the financing aspect makes things much more difficult, and it's partly the reason why they are not very popular.  

Louis, MI has property on the cheap with good cash flow.Kansas City, Memphis & Cleveland seem to be the most popular turnkey locations here on BP.

These are very common in Europe and are gaining popularity here in North America.

I think VCSH is a great choice too.  

John, I am in a similar situation, looking to diversify out of SFR in my local market and towards small investments in commercial real estate through crowdfunding but I am also not yet an accredited investor.I've found a ton of great information browsing BP as well as a lot of good informational material on a site maintained by @Ian Ippolito -- He provided this advice in another forum: "If you are nonaccredited, there are a lot fewer national choices: Richuncles, RealtyMogul and Fundrise.

Popular area, competitive with Investors.