First time investor living in SF - Wanting to invest out of state

[Shivam Bhalla]

Hello BP members!

I am a first-time real estate investor and I live in an expensive area (bay area) and I am looking to invest in properties outside of CA. I have a good amount of cash saved up and looking to hear from experienced investors about where they invest if they invest out of state. I am also wondering if anyone can recommend any good research tools for investing in out of state properties, which I personally have had a tough time finding myself (side note: I'm a software engineer by trade so if something good does not exist, ill be happy to build something out for the community)