Its important to find a broker who will be very inquisitive of all the details of your deal up front. 

Joe,I really hope you get some good responses here with how specific portfolios have performed over time.I can tell you that the type of property you purchase, the location of the property, the amount of rent paid by the resident and probably most importantly, the quality and level of renovation are going to have a major impact on performance over time.   

This is a fairly common question and it does have some important details to understand:There is quite a bit of difference in how rental income is counted between a "FHA" loan and a "Conventional" loan. 

In general, the most important part of out of state investing is having a strong core team out there.

At this point (the starting point) in my career, learning the ropes through experience and quality mentorship is more important than anything else - even money.

While picking a standard set of colors could work ok, it's important to use colors that work with the light in each individual house.

Troy Sexton  downtown has done a good job for us.. he is reasonable and likeable as well which is important..

I'm in the process of searching for my first investment property and was wondering how important it was to link up with a good RE attorney before closing on a property? 

It is so important to understand the rules and pitfalls, it can be so expensive and time consuming to make an ignorant mistake and end up in court.

Remember that money is the most important factor.