It's a gamble , but you have already done much of your due diligence!

It's a gamble.  

I hope to be able to contribute something of value on the forums, though I'm not sure how relevant my offshore perspective will be.  

I would just feel like I was gambling with my earnest deposit without proof and assurance they were going to buy the property.   

So in Summary Local guys can make these work.. out of state its 50/50 gamble.. your either going to kind of make it work or Ben will be buying your home for 10k in 3 years once you have been through 3 tenant turnovers a complete strip of the home etc.I have one of my personal investors who has a duplex in Indy he paid 60k for put 30k into it and has basically lost all his money..

Sure, you could try to time the market... buy low in CA... sell high in CA... then go invest in cash flow in Indianapolis... but that's just gambling and market timing IMO.

@Bryan Gamble I'm right there with you, when I first stumbled across it, it seemed too good to be true.

Hi Jamal, I'm big believer that investing for appreciation is pseudo gambling.

if this was their first time living together it might be a bit more of a gamble.

Obviously we know about the gambling industry, but what about entertainment companies or tourism?