Buying property out of state for a first-time investor

[Courtney M.]

Hello! I'm happy to be here on the BP forums.

I'm just starting to look at investing in real estate. I live in inland southern California, which is more affordable than the coasts, but still more expensive than what I'd like my first investment to be (around $100k). I grew up in Michigan and am a bit more familiar with the metro-Detroit suburbs, where starter homes are more within my desired price range.

My question is for those who started investing in real estate, did you stay local? It definitely seems easier to manage an asset when you can drive to it, not to mention are in the same time zone. Do you think it's a mistake to think about investing so far from where you live, given my lack of experience at this point?

Thanks!