No matter where you decide to invest, it all boils down to doing your research thoroughly. It is equally easy to lose money buying in your backyard compared to buying 1500 miles from where you live. Take your time and do your due diligence. Some important things that I usually consider when buying rental property
1. Survey the area down to the neighborhood. Visit the area of interest and spend some time there.
2. Look at the demographics, jobs, incomes, schools, employers, etc to start with. Talk to a lot of people about the area.
3. Get a real estate agent who knows the area very well.
4.Find a trusted contractor and a property manager. Establish the team mostly through referrals.
5. Check the sales and rental comps in the area.
6. Find out tax rates from county records. Don't rely on zillow, trulia, etc.
7. Call up insurance agents to find out how much it would cost for landlord insurance.
8. Finally, use a very conservative approach to calculate you cap rates,cash on cash, ROI, IRR or whatever metric you want to use.
This is not a comprehensive list but just something to get started. I'm not a investing expert by any means but this approach has worked for me investing out of state. Even if were to invest in close to where I live I don't think I would do anything differently.
Whether you're buying turnkey or not, the process is basically the same. Do your due diligence. Most people assume that turnkey is totally hands off approach. It is actually not. In fact you have to be very diligent when you buy turnkey. Most (probably all) turnkey providers will market a very rosy picture. They will over estimate rents and under estimate expenses.
Most importantly you have to be a 100% comfortable with where you invest. Whether its out of state or not. Whether its turnkey or not.
