We have been doing this constantly in Boise as we are such a high appreication market, but still more cost effective than CA.

Today it has good cash flow (~$6k/month using 49% expense ratio) and is up ~$1m above costs.  

If you are buying loans then its more complex as you have discounts involved, monthly cash flows, outflows (like servicing costs) and unknown exit dates.

Have been house hunting for awhile for a primary home or multiple, I am now considering building new rather than buying old ones with high maintenance cost.

My local market is cost prohibitive to invest in and the thought of assembling a "team" of unknowns in another market was scary. 

Having a person answer the phone costs the PM company substantially more than operating a support button with a delayed response.

-While rent would be more expensive month by month, the idea of being able to take my equity out of my home and also being able to reduce annual repair costs, property taxes, etc. does seem appealing to me. 

We deducted the cost of cleaning the home, the carpet, and some other drywall and paint damage to the property. 

There are also additional costs of operating and maintaining an LLC, like separate bank accounts, annual report filings, tax filings, etc.2.

You should think through how much this will cost with architectural drawings, a good GC, etc.