Is it possible to self-manage from “a distance”?

[Jeff Alwine]

Hello all. Hope everyone has kept themselves safe. 
I'm new to the world of real estate investing. I live in Manassas, VA- a pretty western suburb of DC. My issue when trying to run numbers on potential deals is that the best areas for rent-to-asking price ratio seem to be about 1-1.5 hours away from me. It seems positive cash flow is POSSIBLE closer in to the city, but with not a truck load of cash, the best places for me appear to be out toward the interstates. I'm looking either SFH or small multi-family.
My question is whether or not it is possible, (read “logical”) to invest in property I intend to manage without a pro, that is not just a quick drive away. Does anyone have success with this or am I better off finding a property manager? 

[Ujwal Velagapudi]

It's definitely possible. I'd travel out of country over 30% of the year, and still managed to run everything just fine as all my operations were streamlined. In the last few years I only forced myself to go visit due to paranoia but otherwise there was no need. Have your tenants direct deposit all funds into your bank account, do not personally accept any cash/checks. All documents via Docusign/electronic signature. All maintenance issues, have them explain the issue via email with pictures and a description. You can then use the pictures/videos and summary to get quotes for big jobs, or just call a local handyman to do the work. For these small jobs I've used craigslist guys and have been mostly fine, but you can use a more reputable company and pay a bit more for the comfort if you wish. All coordination was done over the phone, email, or text. 

Now the few times are if you need to file for eviction, go to court for any reason (e.g. violations), showing the property to new tenants, renovating between tenants, or need to go to the city/county office for filing documents/payments (if they are archaic and don't allow for mail-in/email), then you may need to drive down once in a blue moon. Otherwise, for those minor items, you could partner with a property mgt. company. I actually had a little deal with a PM where I would pay him $50/hr for a quick drive down to check on the properties, take pictures of condition, file something at the city, etc. as a contingency plan in the case I was overseas and couldn't do it myself remotely. 

So is it possible? Definitely. It just depends on where you stand in the spectrum of passive investing vs. making every single penny you can on the property. I chose being more passive with a lot more peace of mind, but by operating my business the way I did I managed to only leave very little on the table.