And if you're going to make the trip I'd pick a listing for a property in a nice(r) area and one that looks like it's in a worse area.  

The first time took me most of the day and a few trips to home depot.

@Christopher Phillips makes a good point in not letting the LLC trip you up and prevent you from hitting the streets and looking at properties.

Ok BPers, I am in Norfolk, Virginia on a work trip and I'm taking advantage of my time here to check out the local real estate for future out of state purchases.

My son and I will be taking a trip to Seattle, Wa area the first week of October.

.$30,000 in the bank for investing <--- I would prefer to not max this out though.Credit score >800Debt obligation/month $700 plus $1450 PITIAnnual Income before tax - $50,000Short term Goals: To generate $2,000 residual cashflow per month in the next 4-5 years so that I can put my baby girl into a good school and have a little extra cash for trips/breathing room.

I'd take a trip to your target area and see if you can buy before you leave your job.

I would use the service to compare decisions I'm making like:The choices in my chart of accounts set upBooking my contribution to the LLC as Owner's Equity vs. a loan to the businessHow to account for the trip I took to buy the property.

Also, if you decide to drive, it is .53 1/2 cents per mileage deduction, which for me in Las Vegas, is about 700 round trip, or about $350 tax deduction each trip.

Same can be said for property managers.Make a trip out of visiting a few cities on your list.