This comes with the territory of renting in those areas. 

It sucks that rates have went up so much, but that's the basic territory. 

I feel it's extremely risky dealing with an unfamiliar territory.

I strongly recommend jumping in and finding several local meet-ups so you can make some contacts, talk real estate (as much as you can so far), hear all the lingo and territory-info you can get, and be immersed in the reality of REI.

Looks like institutional money is moving into real estate investor territory:[http://myrentalportfolio.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Morgan-Stanley-SF-Report-Oct-2011.pdf]This scares me!

As of next week I'll have 6 closed in 4 months....it depends on how large of a territory you can exploit a niche (or two or three) in IMO.

Lots of ideas and uniqueness come with this territory Alison

I called first national bank, they will do helocs on rentals BUT it must be within 50 miles of a branch and Michigan isn't in their territory.

I do just that, but 2019 might be my last year as I hope to cross into comfortable FI territory at some point during the year :)  Am happy to be of any assistance I can to guide you to someone who can provide proper fiduciary help.Originally posted by @Brent Sutherland: Hi @Jay Kaltenbach, this is a hot button issue for me as I am a real estate investor who has spent over 13 years in the financial services industry.

Yeah, 10-12% interest seems awfully high.....you’re in hard money rates territory.