It is possible, but unlikely and risky.

A 1%- and 2%- rule property is hugely better in California compared to Costa Rica because you can leverage in California and you can't in Costa Rica (notwithstanding the fact the risk is higher in Costa Rica too so you'd actually expect a higher return there).

The value of the home is not increasing substantially at all - the primary reason for the increase is higher risk is due to storms every year the past several years.

Only having your reserve and the $100 cashflow can be risky.  

I'm an Italian investor, and I will say that long term rental is a very risky option.

Probably not as risky as the stock market. 

When people bring up Subject To (very risky) and private money it's usually because they have seen a lot of scaling content.

Luckily, Memphis has a strong network of real estate professionals who are used to working with out-of-state investors, so you'd have plenty of support.In terms of risk, I think buying in Memphis is a good way to manage that.

Even if we didn't renew the tenants when the leases were up or if they had their own renter's insurance policies, we felt it was a bit too risky.  

You'll have a property manager do the management (so you being close to it is not needed).Yes there are risks for some people to go out of state but if you learn the techniques like I have, you'll see it's actually easier and far less risky.