The units all are old and will surely need work in the not to distant future.  

I have been told my first rental should not be so distant.

The new government in DC is barely 60 days old.Yet one of the most noticeable early goals it has set for itself is the repeal of Dodd-Frank.Although this law is more complex than most people seem to think,it might be worth your while as a real estate investor to google it and familiarize yourself with some of what it does and doesn't.Those BP members who were in the game in 2006-2008 understand that Real Estate can be a blood sport.We like to beat up on stocks.We like to say an entire stock portfolio can be wiped out by some extenuating circumstances while real estate is tangible and can be driven to,visited and touched.However,thanks to NINA and NINJA loans (google them),real estate proved every inch as dangerous as stocks in 2006-2008.At least when most people own stocks,it's usually almost all their own capital.When mortgages go bad,you not only lose your own equity,but now you own a ginormous amount of money to a lender who must foreclose on you.Bankruptcy may follow as value add.I feel it's my responsibility as an experienced investor to throw this out here at this time in our national political journey for those newbies who keep salivating over all these tempting threads on BP about "so and so" buying "150 units in 12 months".Now more than ever,it's extremely important to learn from the bitter lessons of the not too distant past.leverage is a two-edged sword.The wise ensure they purchase a sheath as well.The new government's policy post-repeal of Dodd-Frank (if it's that easy) may well birth an unprecedented job growth explosion and asset appreciation that we never have to worry about rental units vacancies again.But experience tells every savvy investor that is a pie-in-the-sky expectation.So what is my company doing to prepare for what is to come?

Depending on the vagaries of Spokane zoning, at some point in the distant or near past, the lot owner split off a piece and gave/sold it to someone else.

If you are forced to lead the search from a distant market, what good are they?  

Owning a condo in Whistler is on my dream sheet....that's a distant dream though.

As far as you making other changes, like having the water sub-metered for tenants, I would follow your hunch and wait a bit until this recent cable take-away is more of a distant memory.

Being a long distant landlord is very difficult. 

Hello, I have read 4 books from Bigger Pockets and listened to 3 audiobooks along with many other "How To's" in the real estate investing genre. I'm excited, and looking forward to becoming a successful investor and a...

We have a lot of research to do, but, Lord willing...our first STRP will be in Steamboat...in the not so distant future!