I'm boots-on-the-ground to see what is going on at each of the properties I manage. 

Quote from @Alex Boots: I am looking at a 48-unit deal and spoke to the broker today.

Nada.This was just part of his value add of being a boots on the ground local PM.If your PM isn't local you may as well self manage.

For 3 years now, 3-flippin-years, I have been on this platform combating the disinformation of various degrees shouting from as loudly as they can that "THE END IS NIGH" declaring for ___(insert the reasoning)___ real estate is going to '08' style collapse. 

For sure when investing long distance and not locally, you need to have a good solid team in place in the market you are investing in such as the property manager, rehab construction general contractor and real estate broker which are your boots on the ground...Wondering with Syracuse if this is the same with Rochester, Buffalo and Albany???

How people didn't know that an ultra blue area, with super friendly tenant laws (and low cap rates to boot), wasn't going to have worse landlord laws in the future is beyond me. 

There is a lot of people buying lead-boots today because they bought into this shiny "cash-flow" dream and give it a bit, in a few years there going to be whaling about how they got f'd because now the maintenance and operational costs have eaten all their profits, rents stayed flat while expenses gone up, and it's all "the markets fault".     

@Jabran Khan thanks for sharing you journey with this, super helpful I will look into the boot camp would probably be a good idea for me. it really is such a sellers market right now and its hard for a first time home buyer to like make a fast decision, but thank you for this advice!

Then you’re using a chemical treatment to combat odors, while running negative air machines 24/7 until confident odors have been arrested before you move forward.The secondary catch with doing a full gut renovation, the inspection process is now a full view x-ray, with anything and everything exposed any time an inspector walks on site.

However, if vacant for a short period of time fill-in with nightly rentals.I also agree with @Ian Whiteman, the software in place, your boots on the ground crew, and your accounting need to be impeccable, especially with you so far away.