First time rental property investor from CA

[NaniKan Deravo]

Hi all,

I'm from California and thinking of buying a rental property in/nearby Austin. I've talked to a few real estate agents to get an idea of the landscape in Austin. I'm mostly interested in places like Leander and Cedar Park. Based on my research, it seems I should be expecting negative cash flow here. I'm still thinking if this is the right move for me given the high property taxes there, hassles of out-of-state management, additional CA taxes, as opposed to simply investing in index funds (which might have more returns). I'm looking for that one strong reason for why I should move forward with it. I hear the terms like leverage, future growth opportunities here, diversification but not fully convinced. Can anyone help me bring me out of this limbo? Thanks a lot!

TLDR; Why should an out-of-state investor buy a rental property in Austin instead of investing in stocks/index funds?

Also, I'd like to connect with fellow out-of-state investors in Austin. Anyone here?