Investing out of state could be a smart way to find better cash flow in more affordable markets.

This implies that rather than buy the cash flow, you are likely to do better putting that money in S&P or you can d far better using it to make a smart RE investment.- current f/f is around 6%.  

@Sebastian AlborsIn my experience, buying a single-family home (SFH) in Asheville and house hacking with a family member like your brother can be a smart way to balance costs.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can maximize the wealth of information available: Check out the blogs and podcasts, or take advantage of the search feature (magnifying glass).

You might want to limit your visits though to avoid escalation.Short term if the smart lock is on his personal door just change it to a key if it's isn't working for him, you can always switch back later.

Broken glass lantern by the pool, smoke detector hanging in hallway, broken ceiling light in the bedroom, face plates missing or missing screws.

Also im pretty sure he promotes section 8 rentals and gives you a story with rose colored glasses.

Hitting local meetups is smart—Tampa has a great investor community where you can connect with wholesalers and lenders.

I'd also reach out to the tenants and let them know to direct the payments to them though any smart tenant would only do that after talking to the PM.

This is a great idea that I think I will incorporate.Your point about a contingency line item is smart, I will need to talk to my lender about that possibility.