I would be an out-of-state investor but I do make it there occasionally.

All good responses, but more importantly......you're not likely to get the property under contract for an attractive wholesaling price, when a competent agent is involved....it happens occasionally, but not often.

Buy a house(HUD houses can be some great deals occasionally), fix it up while you live there for at least 366 days to be in long term capital gains OR live in it for 24 full months as your primary residence and you can sell it tax free up to 250k (500k married).

There can occasionally be some cash flowing properties in the pine hills area, although many of those homes do not meet the 2% or the 50% rules preached on BiggerPockets.Regardless there are some opportunities for duplex investing in Albany.

Buy and hold (maybe the occasional flip for fast cash), cash flow investing.

I do some fix and flips, work as a broker and manage agents, occasionally take on listings or find property for family and friends, coach, and wholesale.

At some point, it make sense for you to consider getting your agent's license ($1,200 up front and $100/mth), to have full MLS access and ability to inspect properties, control deals, bid low on HUD properties, and earn an occasional commission.

Though I try to stay in the top 4 counties (Tarrant, Dallas, Collin, Denton) we occasionally go to Johnson and Ellis county as well.

You can buy HUD keys online, but they do change them occasionally and use different keys than they used to.

I used MAS 90 accounting software in the mortgage business, it's updated now, but you probably don't want to buy that to figure an occasional loan payment.