A Couple of newbie questions

[Max McNally]

I'm a new REI looking to buy a multifamily property for rental income. I've read the Ultimate Beginners guide, as well as Investing in Real Estate by Gary Eldred and I have a couple questions.

1. What are the pitfalls of investing in out of your area (or state) real estate markets? I live in the Bay Area of California, and I can't make the numbers work on anything near me. I could afford a place like Atlanta or Ohio. Does it make sense to buy there and get a property manager? How do I find agents/financing/contractors? How often would I need to travel? 

2. The 2% rule seems really unrealistic to me. Maybe it comes from living in an expensive area, but I've never seen a property that is worth $100k rent for $2k a month. Does this actually happen ever? 

3. I've been using this spreadsheet to analyze property listings. Does this seem accurate? I've been able to find some craigslist with great returns using this tool, I just want to make sure the model is accurate before I jump into anything. (Let me know if you are able to see the formulas in the link)

I know these questions are probably pretty basic, so thanks in advance for reading and any advice you can give me

Max