Would you feel comfortable working with an agent to advertise the space?

@Matthew Paul - spoke to the Wife and she is not comfortable with keeping our house as a rental. she strictly thinks the new tenants will beat it up and leave it in a state where we'd have to sink money into it to fix it up before selling. also, if we hold it for a number of years, she is fearful that it will be "out of date" and we'll need to sink money into it to remodel it as well.i am more of a risk taker than her and do not agree but we have to come to a consensus.we also would likely need the profit of the current home to move into the next home - for a down payment.creative options/ideas?

Myself I can't stay seated long enough for a book to hold my attention so I was and still am all about the podcasts.

This will give the borrower motivation to either stay or leave, given that if they mortgage is less than what they were paying.

@Julian Pilate-Hutcherson We work almost exclusively with OOS investors and it's a mixed bag...I sold 3 MF properties this month to folks that have never been to the state...and I have another set of clients that have been in the market for months and make routine visits to the city...I think it has a lot to do with comfort-level...truth told, we can leverage technology and get every possible detail on the table for review to make a pretty informed buy/pass decision...combined with an inspection and appraisal, there is really no need to be here in person looking at deals....

There is more comfort in some circles if the party you're buying from also does a 1031 exchange and both of you hold your properties for at least two years. 

I would prefer to stay in B neighborhoods.How would I research which sub-market is best.

Also, try to stay on the Missouri side because they have friendlier landlord laws. 

Start by attending a couple of local events near you, talk to the other investors and event sponsors and then join the group(s) that you feel most comfortable with.

@Steven Leigh Thanks , I guess for deal analysis MLS may be one of the best sources to get BP scrutiny  :) @Christina Carey may I ask - what areas in Kettering you'd be very comfortable  managing properties ?