First rental property

[Tarcizio Goncalves]

Hi everyone, I just created an account with BP. I've been reading alot and I am very excited that I found this website. I was hoping you all could help me out.

I live just north of Boston, Massachusetts. I love MA, particularly the area that I am in but some aspects of MA in regards to real estate scares me a little. I dont think MA is a landlord friendly state (can someone correct me if I am wrong). First off, RE taxes are super high, in terms of evicting a problematic tenant, it can take several months, and lastly, property prices are very expensive which will make my net return % very low. I look at a state like Florida which I love, property taxes and prices are super low and the eviction process takes about a month. 

MA investors, what do you do to deal with the problems I listed above?
Does someone invest in out of state properties, specifically in Florida? If so, what advise you have for me living in MA and wanting to invest in FL? I have some money that I want to use towards buying my first investment property and am not sure where to start building my portfolio of rental properties

[Matt Lefebvre]

Welcome to BiggerPockets @Tarcizio Goncalves!  Congratulations on starting to take steps into the world of real estate investing.  Every state has their positives and negatives.  One of the largest challenges with investing out-of-state is the need for a lot of knowledge of the area or having a lot of faith in the team you develop.  It's not feasible for you to purchase a property in Florida and manage it from afar.  However, if you make connections in Florida that you think are valuable, then you might be able to arrange investing out of state.  

On another note, you can always invest more locally.  If the prices are pushing it out of your affordability range, consider looking 30, 60, 90mins out and developing a team in that area.  While I do think its difficult to self-manage properties over an hour away, you can do it.  Though I'd recommend, once again, building a team in that area to invest.  

I'm up in NH where, although we're notorious for high property taxes, they actually tend to be lower than MA simply because property prices are a lot lower.  Also a much more landlord-friendly state compared to MA.  Have you ever considered looking there?