I live in FL and do all my biz in Cleveland as the net % is 5 x what it would be in FL. I

.#4 There are people who fly in....one great investor from Brazil comes fairly frequently...I've met bidders from CA and WA that fly in. 

I hope you went fly fishing when you drove your cycle down through flying fishing nirvana :)this is a great point you make about health insurance.. 

I'm not trying to rain on anybody's parade, but anyone who follows advice that is that general in nature and tries to do one of these, by advice from a post on a forum, is sure to find themselves discussing the deal with a nasty attorney on the other side of the transaction and in a very formal setting called a court room.I can not tell someone that you can climb into a piper airplane, put the key in the ignition and hit the gas and you will be flying.

I'd always recommend flying out to where you plan to invest to get a feel for the market and to meet your team in person.

When I bought my first properties in FL, I hired a friend's PM who later turned out to be dishonest and we both fired her.

Well 1st find your market. 2nd fly in and network.

Quote from @Michael Hoover: Added info:  My current 18 single family portfolio has a Loan to value of only 56%,  (1.8m value 1.03m borrowed). another negative These additional doors would be leveraged (owner-financed) at nearly 100% of their as is value.

He was great, a skinny guy and would fly up those trees.

There's a lot of contextless data flying around and there is a big difference between people who want to sell you something in the short run, and people who want to see you succeed in the long run and they'll use the data to suit their needs.