We've lived all over; and I actually started my RE investment journey in Fort Collins, CO.We're also interested in buy-and-hold properties for cash flow (whether short term or long term rentals), and the 1-3 year goal would be to buy an investment property in Durango that we could 1031 exchange into and owner occupy after renting it for 1+ year(s) to eliminate all the deferred taxes accrued from the 1031. whew, that was a mouthful :)Anyway, I'm not probably a great local resource for you, but if I could offer *you* coffee/lunch, I'd love to meet up and see how you've found the last year to be, your experiences, opinions, etc.

One of the most important things with OOS is creating and incentivizing a team of boots on the ground--this is notoriously difficult to accomplish, but it's absolutely necessary for success.When comparing OOS properties to in-state house hacks, always remember to factor in the reduced (or eliminated) housing expense the house hack brings.

They are eliminating all “long term leases” except MTM. 

Charley, it is hard to eliminate risk.

Living in a home, even if it's just the basement, eliminates a lot of "apartment neighbor drama". 

(banging my head against the wall- LOL)I’d personally eliminate both phoenix (seems to the epicenter of the housing bubble) and Memphis (don’t like investing in places with declining populations and limited appreciation potential.)

This theoretically eliminates the danger, but GFCI outlets have a known tendency to malfunction more frequently than regular outlets.

@Erin WeissI have talked to so many contractor friends about this today.Since you have eliminated most other suggestions we will go with an electrical issue.

The yard won't look so much like a golf course, but in many cases you can eliminate watering altogether.

A condo can vote for rental cap, eliminate rentals entirely, issue surprise special assessments, etc., so you could buy it today thinking you can rent it out only to find out they implemented a waiting list, capped units or eliminated rentals entirely, and you find yourself paying monthly condo fees on a unit you cannot rent and selling to a smaller buyer pool as no more investment buyers.