Quote from @Travis Timmons: You'll likely find a bunch of folks here that set a pile of money on fire investing in Brandon's syndications over the past few years.

Let me start by saying that they are both great shows and I think Dave Meyer is great, as are the other present and past guests of both shows. 

I personally believe you should start in your own backyard and find a way to make it work.

I will add that you definitely do not need to be near your investments, but it makes things a lot easier when you first start off. 

Here's a breakdown:New Orleans Duplex: Firing the property manager is likely the right move given the prolonged vacancies.

Make the start date of the lease contingent and effective upon closing. 

Fortunately for me, I started investing a time in the market where everything went up.  

They held a webinar for the Ekahi fund and told them they fired the property management, false they quit due to lack of funds.

But since I am in the fire area of Altadena I will be very busy rebuilding houses for the next decade for me "day job".

Often times you will pay much more in taxes than if you pulled the money out, paid the taxes and penalty and then started investing in real estate.For example, with the financing you mentioned, the IRA must pay taxes on the portion of the profit earned by financing.