If you couple in forced appreciation in properties in such markets, then you get both short and long term profits.If you try to invest for both right off the bat, well that is a unicorn hunt as described above ... you are far more likely to find a snake oil salesman con man staple a horn on the head of a donkey and sell it off to a unicorn, and since you believe in fairytales you will believe him as he tells you whatever you want to hear just to make the sale.A skilled RE operator can make great profit in either type of market, but you give up too much control as a newbie going out of state, so your best bet is to work with the opportunities that your local market has to offer and learn to invest hands on and local rather than chasing out of state unicorns.Am I being too subtle?

Many deals are going for above asking (as early as 2013 I was offering over asking), but in my opinion there are some subtle signs that the real estate market is starting to soften.

That subtle deciet bothers me. 

Then you can talk / subtle interview them.

Now, Trump does have an absolutely AMAZING team of accountants and lawyers that absolutely understand all of the subtle nuances of this.  

What will be some of the  tell-tale  signs  that will stand on the obvious side  and what may be   some of  those  signs that  are more subtle after the smoke clears.

I feel that I've gained more of a flavor of what the out of state options provide and am more equipped to make a decision on whether or not out of state investing lines up with my investor profile after reading through some of the BP forums.Clearly people have made money both ways, but I think its important to figure out what works for you. 

I don't even particularly like it but it imitates Carrera so is neutral, subtle and complements the tile.

I don't say network because "networking" has lost its flavor with many because most people ask for something for nothing when participating, which is a turn off.

I had similar goals when I started exploring various crowdfunding and alternative investment options a few years ago (though I also wanted to sprinkle in some more speculative angel/venture investments), and ultimately ended up making investments in more than a dozen different platforms across a fairly wide spectrum of asset classes.To the extent you want to make Real Estate a big piece of the Alternatives portion of your portfolio (and if you're looking for income, then that makes a ton of sense), @Ian Ippolito's site is a fantastic resource to help you with your due diligence.While some flavors of equity crowdfunding may not meet your income goals, there's a growing selection of offerings around business financing like revenue shares, receivables financing, and litigation financing as well that may be worth considering.