1st time RE investor looking at STNL leases out of state possibly

[Dan Cahill]

Hi,

I am looking to get into commercial real estate as more of a passive investment (as passive as can be in this biz), as I currently only have stock holdings and want to diversify and build a steady stream of income/equity.  

I'm located in the northeast, and have mostly been looking at properties within a 30 minutes drive.  However, I don't want to limit myself to just opportunities nearby, as I see all kinds of QSRs and dollar stores, etc. all over the country that could fit my budget.  

At this point, just looking for some general feedback/thoughts on whether I should approach this path of looking out of state.  I'm looking to put maximum $300 - $500K down, and probably closer to the 25% down payment amount.  I know lenders probably want to see some liquid reserves, so trying to keep closer to the $300K range or less if possible.  

Ideally would find a NNN or absolute NNN lease with a Starbucks/Chipotle/McD's/etc. blue-chip type tenant in a relatively new building. Cap rate I think lowest I would want to see is 4% on a 20+ year term with a blue-chip, with higher rate if a step below type of tenant and/or shorter term.

Should I be working with a NNN specialty kind of broker? And specialty lender? I look forward to combing through more of the wonderful threads already on this forum, but wanted to get thoughts based on what the current market is offering as well.

Thanks!