buying out of state/non-local property

[Mary O.]

Hello everyone, I live in an outrageously expensive HCOL city (Seattle) but I want to invest in RE.  My 80k isn't going to go far here. So I'm looking elsewhere in the NW and out of state.  Is it a bad idea to do this?  I just sold my first rental but that was in town/driving distance so I was doing the maintenance when necessary. It was also relatively new construction so not much maintenance to deal with.

Is long distance a no-no for someone starting like me?

[Ali Boone]

I'm down in LA and have always gone out-of-state for my properties and it's been fine. As long as you are smart about how you do it and who you work with, it can be good. It's just a different mindset- instead of managing a property, you're managing managers. As long as you stay up on the people working your property, it can have great returns. You won't find much in the NW for cash flow, but the further east you go, you can start finding things. Kansas City is a good one for $80k, Indy, midwest, etc.