CRM, website, transaction management, lead generation, mentors, a robust daily training schedule and we even have an optional daily round table where we bring questions or general items for discussions.Sadly, one side effect of my relocation to central Maine is that I'm now in a market where you can buy a decent home for less than $150,000. 

I guess wherever I can find the best deal...My company's HQ is in Round Rock but coming from Boston I am too familiar with a morning commute.

There are also great opportunities in Round Rock, Hutto, and Georgetown. 

This has been a huge undertaking, a great, but challenging learning experience and since we are finishing up the big ticket items is finally becoming a huge financial relief.  

So get the inspections you reasonably can, with a focus on big ticket items: roofs, mechanicals, septic or sewer lines. 

Generally for rental properties, owners have had to make updates and repairs over the years so they’re not in too bad a shape.The only regular exception to that I see a lot is knob & tube wiring still in the walls, basement and attic, and often still active (though owners will always say it’s not).Banks and insurance companies really don’t like knob and tube so you can either try to get the owner to remove it (fat chance in this market) or buy with private/hard money, remove the knob and tube, and then refinance to a regular bank loan.Sometimes people get away with lying to their insurance company and hoping the bank appraiser doesn’t notice it (they often don’t, since they do a fairly cursory inspection) and then removing it first thing after closing.

Most of the resident now are year round.

The ticket price is high, yes, but with creative strategies like househacking and live-in flipping, even a newbie can their foot in the door of CA investing.Those are my two cents.And everything you need to know about out-of-state investing you'll find in David Greene's excellent book Long Distance Real Estate Investing.Good luck!

Are there any Self-Directed IRA's out there that do not have lag times that you can invest your money year round???

Less money spent on supplies, less wear and tear on your place, less money spent on utilities, fewer guest headaches, etc.Bottom line: there’s a LOT of puzzle pieces you have to get right to make this work really well, but once you master it, it can be very rewardingI preferred to invest in the year-round high revenue parts of the US where you can earn a lot of money year-round.