This could be AirBnB, eBay, PayPal, OfferUp or any of the countless similar services.

There are countless tasks that fill the everyday life of a real estate professional.

Anthony, This is going to go against the grain a bit as far as advice goes, but in your particular situation where you will be living there yourself:  - Go with Avon, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Carmel  - Don't worry about cash flow potential in a year, think in five years  - These properties will actually appreciate vs. the rinky dinky 100k home (disclaimer - I have one of those too, not hating)  - Tenants will be more long term which equals less turnover costs (carpet/paint etc. is expensive every year)  - Less likely to default/evictI have two in Indianapolis, have spent countless hours talking to brokers/property managers and getting lay of the land. 

Once you get to a point of being comfortable and have setup a team of attorneys and servicer(s) in the states you want to buy in then start buyingOne common mistake I see so many people make us they spend countless hours trying to find dozens of sellers when they want to buy one or two notes.

I Posted this yesterday but BP didn't like it for some reason and removed it:@Steven Van Ginkel &  @Duane AlexanderThink about it like this, if it were easy to do it, everyone would and there would be no money in it.There are countless ways to try to uncover motivated sellers, all have their pros and cons.

I started out only doing one rehab at a time, but I have subsequently expanded to currently working on four different rehab projects simultaneously.I have made many mistakes and I have learned countless lessons while rehabbing properties in a very diverse area like Baltimore city in just the last 10 months. 

I remember countless novice flippers who walked away from multiple properties during the last RE slide after that $335K buy with 30K rehab wouldnt list for $315K.

You have spent countless hours researching your landlord, added moving costs and relocation fees are adding a lawyer and court time.

I have listened to countless podcasts and read several books.

I invest predominantly out of state and had success just like countless others.