On the other hand the further out you go, the less likely is your property to appreciate and the less likely is your rent to rise and harder to rent.I personally like to invest close to where i live and where i work because i know those areas pretty well and i don't want to be driving 2 hours to check on the properties.It also depends how much you want to be involved.

I for one wouldn't want to drive an hour just to let a tenant in, or to fix a toilet, mow the lawn, etc.

Definitely a lot to look into regarding the tenants and surrounding area.

From there you could target the list with direct mail, you could skip trace the list and call the owners directly or you could drive around looking for the ones with the most visible distress to go talk the owners directly.Or you could partner with someone willing to do all this leg-work to help you find what you are looking for.Best of luck in investing!

You don’t say if it’s 13 min walk or drive?  

I would like to invest in one of the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia - Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Delaware County.I found a triplex through a wholesaler that I met at a REIA meeting (Diversified Investors Group). 

So I dove into this head first, started driving for dollars in my neighborhood and neighboring areas and found 10+ potential homes got numbers off Whitepages and called everyone.

Found my purchase by happening to drive by an fsbo and got it for well under market value. 

He paid me $300 for the car and within a week his shop employee was driving it.

I had a few decent responses, but no one truly motivated and of course a few that were angry or just hung the phone up. lol I've also been Driving for dollars, and I found a few houses I just can't get in contact with some of the owners.