Owning Properties in Various States

[Evan Ross]

Hello Bigger Pockets members! My name is Evan Ross and I am brand new to this online community and real estate investing. I purchased my first house in Medford, MA in August, 2016 (split with my brother). We took advantage of the first time home owners fee and put down 3 1/2 percent. We are taking the buy and hold strategy after investing about $40K on renovations to greatly improve the value of this home. The 2 unit home is now on track to producing consistent rental income with a total of 6 tenants. As a 25 year old entrepreneur I am contemplating 2 options -

1. Stick around the Boston area and continue to invest locally. The problem is that a minimum 20% down payment is usually required. The loaner I worked with says that I can refinance my current property OFF of FHA, and purchase my next house again at a 3 1/2 percent down payment as long as I live there. Are there any drawbacks of doing that?

2. My 9-5 job can place me just about anywhere in the country. My adventurous side wants to get out of Boston for a couple years and buy a house wherever I move to. What are the biggest challenges with owning properties in different states? I would plan on moving back to Boston within 5 years to ultimately settle down here. Any people out there managing properties across different markets with success?

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

Evan