Should I house hack a multi-family, or invest out of state?

[Ryan Riches]

Hey all, a year ago my wife and I bought our first house (primary residence) and started renting it out on Air-bnb to make some extra income to pay off student debt. Simultaneously, I started listening to bigger pockets religiously and I have a stack of real estate investing books I am working through. We set a goal for 2019 to buy our first investment property!

Living in Colorado, the prices are a bit higher than other markets. So we are trying to decide what our next move is. If we want to buy local, we would probably move into the property to avoid putting 20% down - so finding a duplex or 4 plex that we can live in one unit, and rent the rest out. Additionally, we would rent out the property we are currently living in.

The other option it seems would be to invest out of state. I have been analyzing properties in KC, MSP, and Iowa as potential markets. They are attractive because I can get into the game with less cash than here in CO. Obviously all of the fears of being far away and it being our first deal come into play here.

Would love to hear from you all on your experiences with house hacking (specifically in Colorado) and investing out of state. Thanks everyone!