Boots on the ground.Make friends with a neighbor who can keep an eye on things.

No you must have boots on the ground.

Start with something either turnkey or light value-add, so you can start forming your boots on the ground team with less pressure and risk.

And lastly, it is one of the few remaining markets that you can get a 'steal' for a property.....all I recommend is that you rely on your 'boots on the ground' to point you in the right area codes.  5/30/24 Update:  I have been patiently waiting until our court date to reply to this post. 

With the Boots on the Ground team (agent, contractor, property manager), I would add experienced local investors to this.

I do not want to go into another vacation market but rather a metro area with a more diversified economy again just to get into a different type of asset.That being said I do want to continue to short term rent the next few properties we get at least in the first few years of ownership in order to increase cash flow to combat these higher prices and carrying costs before potentially converting to more passive long terms down the line.Therefore I am looking for markets that 1) have a decent draw of visitors year round 2) have regulations that allow strs in some parts of the city 3) Are in growing cities in the west or south.Below is a list of markets I have identified as potential places to look and I was hoping to get some insight from either other investors doing the same thing or agents/investors in any of these markets on whether this is potentially a good market to explore or not.1) Salt Lake City (this is right at the top of my list due to its proximity to ski resorts, expanding of the airport and long term strategic business planning of the area but I have very little knowledge of this market)2) Denver 3) Phoenix (used to live in AZ and like the fact that the state of AZ seems to look favorable on strs)4) Tucson (see above but lower home prices/potentially less appreciation)5) San Diego/LA (these are attractive because of their proximity to my home in Irvine)6) San Antonio (love that it is very close to the booming Austin and feel that this is a market that could see some real growth in the future)7) Tampa/St Pete (I have always been very interested in this market for both short term and long term rentals)8) Raleigh (have invested in Charlotte and love NC but again very little knowledge on this area)Any insights or advice on any of this would be greatly appreciated.

So, unless you have a boots on the ground in Buffalo, NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!  

Her father flew combat missions over Germany in WW2, and was very conservative in everything he did for his family.There are quite a few threads on similar topics here.  

We meet up at Wobbly Boots (moved from Ingersoll Tap due to size) on the Third Thursday monthly.

Who are your boots on the ground?