@Joel Owens I hope to be in the situation you're in someday in the not-too-distant future, making larger-scale investments where planning and management and capital are my contributions, and not be hands-on to the degree this project is!  

Look forward to meeting you face-to-face in the not to distant future!

A distant second thing to do is to review content created by authoritative pros (We've got multiple superb recordings of Michael in the ReSure member space discussing these topics, but posting outbound links here may displease the BP powers that be.)

Finding a great bargain on a SFH in your own market is likely a better choice for most people than a mediocre deal in a potentially growing but distant market.

What I am is an independent contractor that works with notary signing companies, and other business that require a professional, dependable, extensive background passing person, who travels to people homes and helps them sign mortgage applications, mortgage papers, refinance papers and anything else that a long distance company may need to have someone help them work with their long distant clients. 

It is kind of like a distant suburb of LA.

", he theoretically has some protection, but my (somewhat distant) memory of business law is that the so-called corporate veil (protecting the shareholders of the corporation from personal liability) can be pierced by any number of methods and fraud is one of them.  

So if a truck driver is off the road and not at a distant motel 5 nights a month, the expectation would be that for at least 3 of those nights, his head falls asleep on a pillow in the house with a primary residence mortgage.

If however you only intent to live in it some time in the distant future you are running  a pretty serious risk of being put into the hurt locker. 

I always know and check my competition, sometimes even providing potential renters with a list of the Overpriced or Distant competition."