Reliable property management is everything, especially as out-of-state investors.

Here's a fundamental explanation to get your juices flowing:Assume a house costs $200,000 and rents for $1,500.

Save up more capital and buy an investment property or just house hack for a year. 1 year really isn’t that long and flies by pretty quick.

Then pay them a fee for finding the deal and pay them 8-10% of rents to manage the rental(s).

If I were you I would look into the possibility of starting off with a house hack.

Because EVERYONE wants to sell their house fast.People who list on the MLS want to sell their house fast, people that want to sell their house FSBO, want to sell their house fast.

Quote from @Erick Pena: A "good" rental property is one that covers all expenses (mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and any other costs) and still leave a surplus (commonly referred to as cash flow).Calculate cash flow as: Cash Flow = Rental Income − Operating Expenses − DebtThere's much more to it, but that's the basic idea.

I was thinking of maybe getting into Lake Tahoe since its only 3 hours away and so I can learn the ins and out of the business by managing it myself.

Real estate transactions with non-profit organizations like nursing homes or religious entities can indeed be unique, but they’re often manageable with the right approach.

I'm also meeting property managers in different markets that are starting to refuse to manage properties in certain neighborhoods.