Hi Radhika-Congratulations on being a homemaker with young kids and looking to do more for the family financially now that the kids are older.You have 50K to get started but are having difficulty choosing markets and deciding where to begin and you are thinking about single-family long-term rentals out of state because you live in California.I would encourage you to start with duplexes, preferably with 2 bedrooms in each unit for tenant longevity, and ideally with separate utilities.

By utilizing one provider for both services, both can be aligned, customized to your portfolio’s needs which should achieve a better outcome overall.Real estate investing can be very complex and navigating taxes, compliance and insurance can be overwhelming and complex, deterring some people from expanding their portfolio or from investing at all.

Quote from @Victoria Hogan: @Rick Albert here's the link to the posting our PM put on zillow: https://www.zillow.com/homes/4072-W-Song-Bird-Pl-Fayettevill...There's not a ton of competition in this specific neighborhood and what is looks to be mostly all priced higher than ours with varying times on the market. 

Further, how can you enforce collections if you're not a utility?

I'd love to utilize their expertise when assessing a property since they are local but I'm not sure what the general expectation is when I don't have a tangible property and I have not entered into contract to work with them yet.Some questions I have are: local regulations/permitting timeline, property's potential from their perspective, landscaping/amenities cost estimate (they also help facilitate this).

Research local market rates to set competitive rents, and consider offering utilities or furnishings to attract tenants.

Tim, in lieu of a damage deposit, have you utilized A deposit insurance such as Rhino? 

: I understand that there is commercial and residential, but there has got to be subgroups While I don't think you need to niche down immediately, some specializations in residential RE are:- Co-op- Condo (incl. luxury)- SFR (median pricepoint)- SFR Luxury- MFR- RentalsThere are a ton of commercial RE specializations including retail (various types), restaurant, other food/bev., warehouse, storage, and dozens more.What should I expect when first coming into the profession ?

Because the grid is getting feed via solar, a person in many markets can get solar power, the question is via a privatized system or via the utility provider. 

Log cabins take a lot of maintenance ( mainly oiling them if your in an area with high temps) I owned one at one time it was beautiful and the wood interior was very inviting.