That's great that he travels so much but ask him to provide where he rented and where he slept during that time. 

PS Rochester and Buffalo were ground zero for much of this stuff also there were groups buying those homes for 10k packaging them up and selling them for 80k to investors from England. the city / state finally cracked down on that and there was some folks that got in trouble on the criminal side of it.. you can google it.. wont mention names but you can find it if you dig deep enoughBut this is nothing new.. buying hood rates for pennies and selling them for dollars to foreigners and unsuspecting out of state folks. 

i don't know how you BRRRR out of state unless you're planning on traveling there frequently to oversee it. 

He wanted me to travel with him and buy some of these deals. 

For out-of-state options like Columbus, Indianapolis, or Huntsville, turnkey or rent-to-retirement properties could offer better cash flow, but you’d need to factor in property management costs (typically 8-12% of rent) and travel for oversight.

I use the terms -  "corporate furnished rentals",  "short-term rentals",  and talk about my target clients-  Business travelers, traveling nurses, traveling healthcare workers.#6  Knowledge -  Know why STR is better for the landlord than traditional rentals.   

Some buyers might chose a fence, some upgrades, or maybe upgraded appliance package.  

The pics of your rentals near Gatlinburg look great...makes me want to travel there!

Since multifamily properties in your area don’t pencil out, exploring out-of-state cash-flowing rentals or mid-term rentals (such as renting to traveling nurses or professionals) may be better alternatives.

My company offers fast-closing, no credit/bad credit loan packages in 44 states and referrals in the other 6.