I got cold feet after the inspection revealed issues in the bottom unit including the 2 gas space heaters not functioning (going into winter), the flooring caving into a sinkhole in the kitchen without the ability to determine cause, and all the drains outside leading to the sewer were collapsed causing fear of flooding.

Because the real estate market is so hot right now, we are looking in multiple markets for our first STR purchase - all of which are outside of our immediate area.Do you see any issues with us using a local (to us) lender, someone in our home town, to work with for this purchase?

@Steve PuglisiIf you are going to market to estate attorney(s) the attorney represents the PR (Personal Representative) while the PR represents the decedent (estate)If you can, try to concentrate on those PR's that reside outside the state of CT (AZ, TX, Utah, HI, etc.,).Usually at most the PR that whom you contact, may be motivated to sell..No matter how much time has passed during the administration process the emotions for the family are still raw..Good luck...  

The trick if you're looking for a local connection though is that most of the teachers of such classes are actually out of state, especially in the post-COVID virtual presentation world.There are many good accountants outside of RI who are nonetheless familiar enough with the peculiarities of RI taxes (e.g., capital gains are counted as ordinary income 😭) that you could broaden the field significantly if you'd be willing to consider them and forego face-to-face sit-downs, but that's up to you of course.Looking online for the continuing education track, it looks like the acronym is CPE (continuing professional education) and the "Rhode Island Board of Accountancy accepts courses from providers that are members of NASBA's National Registry of CPE Sponsors and the Quality Assurance Service".

@Sam CollinsYou may want to reach out to @Michael Plaks who is based out of Houston.Texas is one of the unique states that require the filing of an LLC Franchise tax return even if the LLC is a single member LLC.This filing obligation is not known by many outside of Texas.Best of luck to with your choice.

For property management, I personally would never do that outside of the protection of an LLC.

You'll appreciate the speed at which you develop by going outside your comfort zone.

Have you purchased a multifamily/host Airbnb outside of the state that you live in for your first deal? 

We use 21st Mortgage/ Vander built/ Triad but they don't like investor loans and will not lend to an entity (LLC, Corp, Etc)I have applied with many investor portfolio lenders and been through the ringer asking this question for several years, its seemingly impossible out side of a small 5 year Commercial loan (local Texas bank) that we have received  on our SFR/MH rentals and these are all "perfected" and made part of the land. 

Many of our most successful clients invest both inside and outside of retirement accounts to get both of these benefits.