Purchasing and Managing Out-of-state Property

[Kevin Chen]

Hello BP!

I am new to the site, so apologies if my initial questions seem basic. I was wondering if any of you have enjoyed sourcing properties in states you do not live in and managing those properties remotely? I was thinking during this economic downturn it would be prudent to investigate vacation/second home cities (please let me know if my approach here is way off), but everyone I know has never bought or managed out-of-state and is advising me to forget about it. They say I should start with something easier, since I have never purchased property before, but I figured lack of experience is not an excuse to close my eyes!

So what were your favorite methods of sourcing opportunities in cities/neighborhoods you could not physically visit often, and did you find managing property remotely to be actually quite easy?

Eager to learn,

Kevin