I may be on a different thought process than you, but why would you want the handyman that couldn't schedule an appointment but now is available with less than 24 hour notice during the day time no less, when ideally he'd be busy?

Hi Marcin,Out of state investing is an important component of geographic diversification and syndication can be an ideal way of achieving that from a passive investor perspective.  

My numbers show that while you could gain 80% of rent (20% expenses) in an ideal situation, 40% expenses is a better realistic buffer.

When looking for an ideal location, can anyone share their strategies and what tools you use to research neighborhoods you're not familiar with?  

Ideally all our guests would be able to do would be to be able to switch between pool mode and spa mode, and change the water temperature to within a range we have predefined. 

The last thing you want to do is to buy somewhere you think you want to live only to find out 6mon-1yr later that at best its not ideal or at worst its terrible. where we rented when we first moved here was a nice neighborhood in a not so great area, so while the home and neighbors were great I still had to worry about my wife going to the grocery store etc. by herself in the evening hours.

In the next year, I would like to purchase my first property (ideally, a single-family or duplex).

My partner and I deal directly with the seller. 

yes I could, but it would not be ideal in my area.

It's a good one, which protects the seller 1,000%.Oh and for the length, 24 months is ideal... any less, and you're setting your buyer up for failure.