Just starting out, opinions on first property being out of state

[Stacy Walker]

Hey everyone,

I have a goal of owning my first rental property within the next 6 months. I’m only looking to put 20k down (less would be even better). I grew up in SC and I’m very familiar with the Mt Pleasant, North Charleston, Summerville, Goose Creek areas and think properties out there would fit my budget much better than here in WA. I’ve been browsing Redfin and Realtor.com in the area and can’t seem to find anything that will cash flow on my budget. Do I just need to network more to find better deals in this area, or is that not going to happen for me around here?

Is there anywhere I could be looking within 2 hours of Seattle that might meet that budget? If not, is having my first property out of state an extremely bad idea in your opinions? Thanks so much for taking the time to read this!

[Patrick Britton]

@Stacy Walker I flew out to look at the general area/neighborhood but i have yet to see any of my 7 rentals in person.  I found my property manager here on Bigger Pockets.  reach out to him @Mark Ainley and yes, I think Chicago is great for anyone.  But again, it's all about the PM.  They matter far more than the realtor, home inspector and lender.