Does anyone invest in both Colorado Springs and out of state?

[Jenny Bayless]

I wanted to get some opinions from others who invest in buy and holds, in both Colorado Springs, as well as other locations, and what your opinions are from a comparative standpoint between investing in our market and investing out of state, while living in CO.

We are going to purchase Colorado Springs rental property #7 this Friday, but also have 5 properties in other states. We have thoroughly enjoyed the chase to get under-market value properties in Colorado Springs, in addition to watching the values climb steadily over the past 6 months to a year timeframe (providing that security blanket in our minds if we ever needed to sell), and being contacted by a sea of applicants whenever we put a property available to rent- and I have to imagine that everyone investing in Colorado Springs is enjoying the benefits of this! :) . Because the market is so stable, we have been able to pinpoint ARV with accuracy for when it comes time to present the deal to our HMLs or when it is time to refinance, leaving no mysteries or anxiety of whether we analyzed correctly. Basically it makes us feel 'comfortable'... if that word is allowed to be used to describe real estate investing.

However, for out of state, we find ourselves feeling helpless with what we view as unpredictable markets (fluctuating values, and therefore fluctuating equity positions), long vacancy times (in the Springs, our houses get rented in a week or two, max), and of course, not being able to stop in and physically check out the property and talk with the tenants to mitigate any of their concerns (without having to play telephone through the PM).

Basically what I am getting at, is that I am not sure if I just have rose-colored glasses with Colorado Springs due to it being a hot market at this point in time (and when we entered the market), or if others feel the same way in that Colorado Springs has a lot to offer in terms of it having a stable (and foreseeably strong) economy, decent price/rent ratios, and all around good investment potential for a long-term view.  

For other investors that own in both CO Springs and out of state- which do you prefer?

Let me caveat that I just moved to Colorado last summer, so I haven't experienced any downturns in the rental market locally first hand, so I would love to hear some horror stories to put things into perspective if you are willing to share!

Thanks in advance!