Once the work was complete, I refinanced to pay off the hard money loan and held the property as a long-term asset.This duplex also marked the start of my short-term rental journey—we ran our first Airbnb from one of the apartments before scaling to bigger projects.

I have so much to learn starting out I don't want to add any unnecessary risk or headaches dealing with out of state properties or long distance rentals. 

After fully renovating both units, I refinanced to pay off the loan and held it as a long-term rental.

The key is making sure you have the right team in place—outside of market research, finding a trustworthy property management company is one of the most important factors in making long-distance investing successful.

Are you looking to rent the property as an STR because you are losing money as a long-term rental?

If you can find a fixer at a good price, with room for an ADU, and the comps are good, then you have a deal.Are you planning on flipping or long-term holds?

Hi Jacob, There are DSCR and Hard Money Lenders that will finance a manufactured home as long as it is not in a rural area, and there is no land lease.

Have you read, "Long-Distance Real Estate Investing" by David Greene?

It was a long wait but I got a lot of good upgrades.

Of course values fluctuate and this is over a long period of time.What LA and NY also have that other markets may not is high paying jobs mixed with no land to build more housing.