Steve-Contact me- Let's meet- Jens is right ;)

Why on gods green earth if you can save on commission, gain experience, meet investors and manage your own properties would you want to invest in a market outside of where you are?

This could potentially meet your financial needs by itself as well as provide start up money to do flips or purchase buy and holds

I focus on finding deals that meet specific criteria, and I always keep my underwriting conservative to make sure the numbers work even on a worst case scenario.Right now, my big goal is to land my first property, ideally 20+ units in Florida, and build a strong portfolio from there.

If the owner does not meet that residency requirement, another human being must be identified as the local agent in charge.

There is a kind of "board" which is assorted family members who meet bi-annually to review, vote, decide on any items they need to. 

You'll be able to meet seasoned investors that can direct you in the right direction.

This being said, I don't believe we'll be able to meet the income requirements to qualify for a conventional.This leads me to believe hard money or private lender is more the only option to get my foot in the door, use my business to make repairs at very good rates, build some equity then refi once the balloon is due. 

You should be going to real estate investor meetups to meet other, more experienced investors, instead of looking at markets farther away before you really know what you are doing.

Go out of state if local returns don’t meet your goals, but ensure you have a reliable team and do thorough research.Self-manage to gain experience if the property is local and you have time.