Looking for advice on my next move (buying rentals in other markets?)

[Tim Callahan]

Hey everyone,

So far, we have completed 3 rehab projects in the past 2 years locally in Southern Maine, and I find myself being burnt out because my partner and I have done a lot of the work ourselves to save money.  I don't want to do that anymore, and I am looking to do more in terms of buying and holding assets, rather than just rehabbing and flipping.  Right now, my wife and I are debt free except a small medical debt that we are working on paying off.  And we have about $110k in equity in our 3 unit that we live in.  The tenants pay our mortgage, but we still pay for heating, plowing, maintenance etc.

I really love the idea of finding another market, somewhere south, where we could pick up some rentals or BRRRR, and make it cashflow. Even just buying a SFH and making it work would be huge for our confidence in doing this. I used to own rentals here in Maine 20 years ago, and I invested in western PA about 11 years ago, bought like 4 cheapie rehab houses at once, and failed because I couldn't spend the time to go there every month to check up on things. I basically wasn't ready to invest out of state yet. I sold them off and had a bad taste in my mouth from the experience. Now I'm super cautious, not like the old days. But I love the idea of buying rentals in cash flowing markets, and the south looks very warm to this Mainer (GA, FL, AL).

Just looking for any ideas on how to get started, what a good strategy would be, etc. HELOC on our home? Hard/private money, then refi into a regular loan on the rental? I've worked on my personal credit a lot after a foreclosure in 2010 and a bankruptcy in 2017 (very bad time in my life), now my score is 700+.

Thanks!