Hey Adam,
Yeah... that can be a valid concern. What if you buy property in Georgia for $100,000 and 6 months in the tenant dies? Or stops paying rent? Or gets divorced? Or loses their job? Or starts cooking meth in the kitchen?
Crazy as all those scenarios sound, they happen. And you can't be affording to fly out there and deal with the property concerns every time something needs attention.
The main way to alleviate that would be having "boots on the ground" so to speak by utilizing a property manager.
For example, you can purchase property in Midwestern states for much cheaper than here in sunny California. Some other investors in those states find fixer-uppers, rehab them, find a tenant, and then offer to manage the property for you.
It's commonly referred to as "turnkey" investing because all the hard work is already done. You essentially just buy the property and wait for the checks to come in.
NOTE: Be verrrrry careful about who you decide to do business with, and be sure to do your due diligence. You can get taken advantage of if you're not careful.
$100,000 won't go too far here at all. You could purchase a house or condo unit in Stockton for that much, but most likely won't be too high above your mortgage, so you gotta play it right.
And as other posters mentioned, you have to take into account what happens if property goes vacant for a couple months, or the water pipes spring a leak and need major plumbing repairs.
Will you have the cash reserves to fix those issues or cover the mortgage payment in the event of a vacancy? It's a good rule of thumb to have six month's worth of expenses saved up in case something happens. If nothing else, at least it gives you peace of mind.
