As @Lee Ripma mentioned, there's a few otheroptions out there:buying long distance out of statemoving to a new marketInvesting long distance is the path I've chosen because both my wife's and my family live in Southern CA and we just view the cost of purchasing our primary home as the "tax" we have to pay to live in Socal.

My spouse returned to her govt. 9-5 and the path I’ve chosen is Real Estate Investing.

Even if you had chosen to manage that property yourself, you would still be ill-advised to repair that faucet yourself.

IMO you have chosen some great MODS.

Although I have the potential to make a significant salary with my chosen career I am beginning to get burned out and would like to transition to RE so as to be able to spend more time with my family whom I'm away from for a week at a time.

By the way guys feel free to call me on my phone number or Skype if you want to shoot the breeze about this wonderful topic. So in the past day or so I've started defining what lists I want to keep track of in my data...

Devin,Here are some things to consider;Hiring a property manager is an important decision, and can be an asset for a property investor, but can also be a detriment if not chosen carefully and without some due diligence.

What I have chosen to do going forward is to use local banks, as they truly get to know you and help you reach your goals.

Tell him you’ve chosen to go another route.

.):1)  Ernest money.2)  Closing Costs.3) Down payment % required by bank lender (or more if chosen by you to be more).4) Bank Loan (there are fees involved in this).5) Any bank required cash payments upfront into special escrow such as 1 year of property insurance, or property taxes.6) CapEx Cash for unexpected repairs and replacement (on buy and holds).7) Operating cash (to pay for turns, evictions, and regular repairs).8) Pre-Purchase cash (working capital) to pay for learning and finding the right property for you (travel, Accounting advice, Legal advice, home inspections, etc...).Good Luck!