Move to commercial and industrial.  

If someone represents themselves as private lenders, check them on NMLS consumer access to see if they are licensed.

Choosing a location near LA, accessible by a short flight or drive, will make it easier to check on your projects.

I have a Florida based lender who helped prior clients of mine from Canada with their commercial real estate purchase.

Years ago as a commercial RE broker, I once had a client try to close on a commercial property using cash.

Rookie question here - when you are talking about multi-family, are you generally talking about larger commercial buildings or also including small (2-4) unit properties in this analysis? 

But for an OOS investor one consideration is access to support, first of all PM & contractors, and you have more choices in the much larger Milwaukee metro area than in a smaller submarket.

For a long-term hold, I wouldn’t be too concerned about the hill or alley access.

I found this forum through the audiobook Crushing It in Apartments and Commercial Real Estate.I live in the Bay Area in CA, but have invested in Florida, where I fully own three townhouses bought over the past 10 years.

The decision depends on your access to capital and the level of risk you're comfortable with.If you need support or financing for your future projects, I'm here to help.Best,Drago.