However, I also think that a lot of people who set out to pursue this strategy miss the fact that it is literally a lifetime commitment to deferring taxes, which by definition means not realizing the gains.

We are currently preparing my real estate strategy, of course using the Bigger Pockets Strategy book, as a previous business owner in another industry, there’s a lot of good and refreshing information here in this Strategy book. 

If you want out, you have to either sell low enough where the numbers make sense or one of these other creative strategies.

Through a client and a lot of research and connections through my Personal Training Industry How did you finance this deal?

The goal here is to align with investors and educate them about the benefits of long-term strategies.

A primary residence will most often provide more favorable loan terms so if you are willing to wait one year while you living in your new property and are comfortable with renting out your primary residence to a tenant, then getting something such as an FHA loan is a good strategy to minimize your upfront costs and hopefully get better loan terms.

I am planning to self manage as well and since there aren't many managers in my area I will likely employ a similar strategy once I decide to outsource the management.

I also notice that @Gregory Schwartz mentioned Huntsville in particular—I definitely think that it’s a strong market for long-term appreciation.As for your concerns about investing out of state, I think an investment strategy that is as close to passive as possible would be best.A do-it-yourself approach—where you acquire a property, place a tenant, interview a bunch of property managers, and handle maintenance yourself—is going to be pretty tough to do remotely.

Sounds like you need an agent and/or contractor based on your strategy. 

What’s been your go-to strategy for finding property managers that really excel?