Expenses is the tough part.In my experience and with in our company we run every property at a 40% expense ratio as meaty all of our properties are with in a percent or 2 of this number expect our new builds which is lower. 

We registered our own HoldCo, not super tough to do online.

@Ryan RotzYeah, that's a tough one. 

Legally I have to prove I'm the owner of the property, or the lessee of the parking space or driveway.I had a funny incident that happened.

If a tenant stops paying due to a maintenance request you need to be able to prove you handled the repair with pictures.You should not be surprised by phantom charges.

Southern California is a tough market but when you push forward, you can get what you want.  

I think without any hands on experience the risk of investing out of state just far outweighs the benefit.. remember has has been stated you'd be competing from a distance with expert local investors which would be tough to do. 

That is a tough price point for you to start with a new broker.

Here's a few thoughts I hope prove useful to you:1.

Our rental market here in western WA is so hot and short of inventory that we can just put up a quick ad on Craigslist and expect multiple inquiries that we then run through third-party credit checks.My earlier comment simply came out of years of experience in Minnesota where casual insulation of plumbing can prove costly.