Hey Josh: I'm not much of a local to LA girl-- Cali has the big 'ol earthquake insurance issue (in my mind, if a big one comes along, the insurance companies quickly dissolve themselves and unless you've got a 100% loan, you're out a home--like Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama with tornadoes & hurricanes).. and it's not a landlord-friendly state. I'm THINKING about finding a fixer to have something fun to do (I love flip-and-holds!)... but I haven't researched markets/submarkets yet. I'm in dire need of a very experienced mentor.
On being absentee: I have many properties in different states, and honestly, it's no different. When I go into a market, I first find 5 property managers, compare them, and narrow them down to 3. Of those 3, I get 5 investor references each & negotiate their agreement to suit my needs, then I pick the best of the 3 and keep the other two in my records as backups. I've never needed the backups because I did my homework on the best of the 3. I do the same thing with realtors. I also don't have a problem getting rid of someone that's stopped being proactive for me. One of my market realtors USED to be THE BEST--all the right connections with the city, on all the committees, etc... but all of the sudden, he doesn't answer his phone or email back as quickly. He no longer fits my criteria for a good agent. Deals can move fast, and I need a realtor who's on top of things. Same for a PM-- if they don't get back to me within 24 hours in this day and age, they're gone. It's all about how well you manage the people you hire to do your job. I have a property about 3 hours transport away, and I just get checks in the mail, no added expenses or fluff. Last time I went to drive by (without notice, of course), it was in better condition than when I bought it! Shrubs and flowers planted, etc. Hmmm!
Joseph: I can't say it's all hearts and flowers right now... I'm looking at a lot of turnkey properties with 5% COC all cash and 2% COC using leverage. The only reason I'm considering those properties in those markets is for an appreciation play, but believe me... I'm used to 10-15% COC with my fixers, so I'm having a hard time making these tough calls. I run my numbers conservatively, not based on made-up proformas. I'm still learning, and still searching for my ground floor--because as far as I can see with these 5% and 2%er's, I haven't found it. :0