If I were new I would simply stick to areas close to where I live.

You can't rent out a PO box and live there.And yea that sounds like a huge red flag to me. 

My manger does this all the time.He has an inspection done to verify all the maintenance issue and has someone video the property to verify all the marketing issues.

.- The townhouse you're moving into is currently a rental, but you plan to live there two years for the 121 exclusion.

Quote from @Preston Dean: Quote from @Michael Ewers: Quote from @Preston Dean: Hi @Michael EwersI have had a few past clients from Cali call me saying "I sent post cards to home sellers and I have someone who wants to sell, can you help me with pictures and videos" I think their method was just mass mail and they got a few hits.

@Christopher Reynolds My mantra has always been, "Live where you want to live; invest where it makes sense."

This fall we launched 2 more syndications for infill developments in Boise. a 30+ unit Live-work townhome project in West Boise that has never been developed on 1.3 acres of land and an 8 unit lot split on the Boise Bench with a house to flip on an acre. 

We have emails, video conferences, secure portals etc etc.We do have a physical office, and half of our clients are local.

My client's living room is completely unbalanced and odd looking because this wasn't done, which I had to hide with some fancy drapery "magic" that was expensive.

There are exceptions, like what was mentioned by @Nathan Gesner, if you are an employee of the property owners, and you exclusively manage their properties, if you're a resident manager, living in the building that is being managed, or if you are someone who manages properties owned by a single entity and have a direct ownership interest in it.