And, I have taken on management of countless properties owned by both local and out of state investors.

There are countless people looking for investors and if the those investors don't know what they are doing it can be the blind leading the blind.  

I think we are in a recession; countless articles discuss what a recession is, how to measure it, which KPI's actually mean something, etc.

There are countless threads on these forums of inexperienced investors trying to start off with an OOS property, and completely losing their shirt.I'm not saying it's impossible for an inexperienced OOS investor to succeed, I'm just saying it is MUCH harder than investing in RE in your area--this is true for experienced investors, and it's exponentially more true for inexperienced investors.As others have mentioned, you'll need a team on the ground, but more importantly--you'll need an A+ team you've thoroughly vetted that is trustworthy, and that you have properly incentivized to go above and beyond in helping you succeed.Yes, you will need to learn how to inspect and analyze properties, and you should personally go to the property yourself before purchasing. 

you can learn a lot about what you like and don't like by studying up on the countless RE-related resources that are out there (podcasts, youtube channels, books, blogs, BP forums, etc., etc.)Good luck out there!

I read several BiggerPockets books and listened to countless hours of the BiggerPockets podcast.

This is true even with the use of a PM.There are literally countless investment opportunities available. 

Spending countless weekends at home because I simply can not afford to move my car unless its for work is what keeps me going.

You can find countless horror stories not just on BP but all over the internet with property management because you are giving up the most important thing: control.These are some good questions to ask when you are looking for a good experienced PM.

In countless tax court cases the IRS has ruled against people trying to claim RE pro who work a normal full time job.