I sold the house 6-7 years later for just over 3x and moved to Silicon Valley-that was 1987.

Keep in mind the dynamics in the Silicon valley and Bay area are worlds apart from OHIO.. even though prices are settling down there is still more people than houses.. it really depends on your supply demand structure..

Here in Silicon Valley it is like 8% now.

As an OOS investor this type of investments won't work period, not unless you're banking on a whole lot of luck that Indianapolis is gonna become the next Silicone Valley.

Implied in the story, my understanding is that all these players are using technology and a healthy dose of Silicon Valley Venture Capital to accomplish this.Essentially a homeowner enters some basic info about their house and I believe Zillow will make a fast cash offer on the house "as is". 

Interested in 4 plexes along Silicone slopes. 

Solar panels are made with silicon wafers, PN junctions, bypass diodes, etc: all things that suffer efficiency loss due to excess heat just like any electrical equipment (typically anything over 77 degrees F will create a voltage drop which increases as it gets hotter).

Property Values are lower up there and the homes I really catching the attention of those who work in Silicon Valley.

I had a SFR in Silicon Valley that I was unable to sell, sat on the market for maybe 1.5 yrs. 

BTW apple HQ is in Silicon Valley (Cupertino), not Austin, so you should look into what type of presence they will actually have there (make sure its not admin, warehousing, etc).