How far from home to invest in SFH?

[Neal Shue]

Hi all.

I'm thinking about buying an investment property near my house. The problem I am running into is the appreciation in my area. A 3br SFH in my area sells for about $200K, and the expected rent is about $1,500. The math doesn't work. My question is how far from your house can you invest in real estate if you plan to do the management, and minor repairs? How often would I have to drive to the investment property? I'm finding SFHs much cheaper about 25 miles away, and the rental rates seem similar.