Buying First Rental Property Out of State

[Cole Jennings]

I am new to real estate investing and I am planning on buying a 100k house in the Cleveland area and renting out to section 8. I don't live in Ohio so I would be an out of state investor. The market around where I live is too expensive for me at the moment. Just want some advice on whether this is a good idea for a first-time investor or if I should take a different direction.

[Corby Goade]

I'ts a high risk proposition for sure. There's a reason some of those properties look so good on paper, yet they are still sitting there, waiting for a buyer. 

I have a friend who bought a Fourplex in Ohio a few years ago- paid $235K and gross proforma rents were $5K. He kept it for 4 years and was only cash flow positive TWO months out of 48. Never once collected $5k in rents, lost money every month and sold it at a loss. 

Make sure you know the neighborhood and tenant base very well- hire a VERY experienced property manager and work with an agent who has high production in that area.