@Lori Greene and others.I’m in a similar spot as the OP.

Yes, I was very green....first purchase.

I have read David Greene’s book on long-distance real estate investing, but my guts tell me that it won’t be that straight-forward as outlined in the book.

Also they think even if the principal covers the negative cash flow they are in the green..  

I ask because I've only used free online resources like the Trulia.com Crime Heatmap, which previously had green to yellow to orange to red to indicate progressively increased crime, but is now just progressively darker shades of blue (likely due to the historical association with "redlining").

Check out Long Distance Real Estate Investing by David Greene if you're interested in buying out of state. 

I've started "Long-Distance Real Estaye Investing by David Greene" which may provide some insight but was hoping for some updated, additional tried and true strategies.

@Lori Greene hoping I don’t need to go down the attorney route.

@Kimberly Green-GoldsboroughAssuming you are no longer employed with the agency sponsoring the TSP, you can rollover to any qualified retirement plan such as an IRA or 401(k).A self-directed IRA will provide the advantage of being able to invest in non-traditional assets such as real estate.   

I've gone myself to look at some of these properties, talk with these brokers face-to-face and am ready to pull the trigger at any given moment once I get the green light from my partner who's funding the deal.