I also looked at hundreds of deals online and visited over a dozen properties before I landed on this 8 unit.

A contact of mine has been thriving with STR investments in suburban Chicago, targeting guests visiting for conferences.

We visit TX several times a year to investigate new areas of interest.  

This contractor has 0 reviews on yelp which I found a bit sketchy, but was able to vet him by his contractor's license, worker's comp, and by visiting some of his ongoing projects.

Their different backgrounds will lead to 80-90% of the same stuf being pointed out, but the 10-20% differences can be eye-opening and lead to more accurate bids.Suggest you visit a Home Depot on a Saturday, between 6-8am.

We are eight hours away from our property visiting family for Christmas and got a call that our rental has 3 feet of water in the basement.

I'm visiting for the holidays so would love to do a coffee chat if anyone is up for it! 

Thank you in advance and happy holidays to everyone.Denise Most of our out of state investors that work with our team start by evaluating different places and then plan a visit to check out the area.

If you can arrange a visit to see how the tenant is taking care of their current place, that will open your eyes as well.

I'd pick a market close by, or that you have a strong personal connection to, or that you visit often.For example, these investors bought properties that "weren't very expensive," or at least didn't look that way:https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/1215726-break...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/963/topics/1195280-expe...https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-balti...