Don't get caught up in fancy words and creative marketing when evaluating a property out of state.

You have an inspiring story already and I'm excited to see where this journey takes you.A few tips that may be helpful to you here on the Bigger Pockets website as you build your portfolio:You can set up keyword alerts so anytime someone posts about Jacksonville or any of the other markets you're evaluating, you'll be notified.

I am evaluating a rental property that has 2 lots and 3 small homes on it. 

I use hard my hard money lenders as part of my evaluation team.

I also need practice evaluating the repairs needed.

People post when a deal they've submitted initially looked profitable but they don't know how to put together a realistic and reasonable scope of work for the rehab and we tell them we need that in place before we will even send evaluators out to look at the property.

Have you evaluated any other markets yet? 

Make sure you have a decent CPA and use him/her to help you evaluate financials of apartment buildings etc. aside from just doing your taxes.

In your experience:What metrics did you utilize to evaluate a city?

@Jeremy Swanson I think you should definitely evaluate any potential upgrade to see how much you can raise rents and how long it would take to recoup your capital.