Funny enough, I am looking out of state as well (taking  trip to Cleveland in October and I think we'll be doing deals there soon), BUT yes, I already invest here for appreciation, and am very happy with the areas I'm involved with and deals we've done so far.

We are planning a trip to CA. in December, but would like to have as much as we can planned out before then.  

#1 would be my priority, due to the potential liability of someone tripping/falling and hurting themselves on a hazard you clearly knew existed (and knew you had a duty to repair). 

The way I see it, the cons of option B is remote management, but since I travel to Rhode Island and Columbus, Ohio quite often- its not going to be a special trip to search/oversee these investments.  

I took a trip there deduced it was in deed the place to be and starting buying lots..I bought my first lots for 20k and 40k respectively..

I'd guess a weekend trip would be less than $500 and well worth your time and money just for the educational/experience aspect alone.

I'm not located in Florida but I'm planning on a trip sometime next month to check out some listings.

To all my Chicago members…I’m making a quick trip to Chicago to check out the area for a future multi-family investment.

1 block away from my current rental that I was working on I noticed on open house house on one of my many trips to home depot for material.My wife represented us on the purchase and negotiated $100k credit due to foundation issues.

Also, they'll generally want to see at least some skin in the game.I see two possible solutions,1) Seller 2nd financing2) Private money individual 2nd financingYou'll definitely want to consult your lender/counsel to be sure that obtaining subordinate financing won't trip any loan causes, or cause any issues with the 1st position lender.With that said, speaking with individuals at local REIA events/local investor meetups is a good way to find individual PMLs.