Newbie in Northern CA and Washington DC

[Nathan McMath]

I have been finding a wealth of knowledge on this site.  I just want to introduce myself on the forum.  I am a newbie who is interested in purchasing my first rental property for a buy and hold scenario.  My wife and two kids live overseas (near France), but we go back to Northern California and Washington DC for two months every summer.  I am looking into Silver Spring MD because that seems like a decent market for buy and hold.  We may purchase with cash, so I am trying to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of doing that.