You may already know this but for virtually any investor duration of reasonable length San Diego is one of best return on REI in the nation.  

Think about all possible expenses and be conservative as well as make sure you have the personal income/liquidity to support the property if it is vacant for an extended period. 

If I extend an HVAC system, it can get more and more inefficient which is going to cost your tenant more and if you let it go and the utilities cost too much, they will move.  

He offered to remodel the house for free in exchange for a discount on the monthly rate for the duration of the repairs.

Except that it's not a good fight..It may be that you you are advised to lay low for an extended period of time.

I plan to reach out and chat with those who extended that invitation.

Hello Bigger Pockets,Let me start off by saying, I have been been monitoring the forums on and off since before I had any idea what anyone was talking about, and I would like to extend my gratitude for the plethora of information shared herein.

I don't believe it would extend to out of country property.

Even with a decent down payment, lenders seem reluctant to extend a great deal of credit.

I like this idea as we can cash out and end up with a lower payment if we extend the term as we started with a 15yr mortgage on the Ramsey plan.