@Pat McQuillan For your out-of-state investment property, you can maximize tax write-offs by deducting mortgage interest, property management fees, maintenance, repairs, travel expenses for property-related business, and landlord insurance premiums.

I am a handyman with a lot of experience in residential and commercial maintenance, so I would like to be close to my first investments so I could take care of the management and repairs myself.

All we do is collect the rent and come by to do the pool and small repairs.

I have the opportunity for a cash offer where the property has great up side once it is renovated.We can get in to the property no problem since we have the cash, the issue is how to finance the repairs and renovations since we just got started on the business and no longer have a w2 or 2 years income under the LLC? 

We have roofers that we use that will actually do small repairs and will only tell you to replace the whole roof if it is actually necessary.

You can find deals but they often need a lot of repairs/renovations, and depending on your skill and/or team, it might make these viable options or properties you want to avoid.

@Daniel Kulik a robust work order / repair management module would be great.

CoC will be down to about 8.1% with 10% vacancy/repairs assumed. 

Recently, I learned a valuable lesson that made me step back and reassess how I approach offers to sellers and agents.One example is a duplex deal where I submitted a lower offer due to the significant repairs needed.

Also can I use an FHA loan to buy a distressed property that needs repairs?