I live up in The Woodlands area and have several rental properties in the Spring/The Woodlands/Conroe area.

Investing in rental properties outside your local market can be a great move if your area is too pricey.

Like other posters have mentioned - it will likely vary by lender - but generally most states will be OK with either Individual or LLC but there are a handful of states that due to various regulatory interpretations will require a LLC (or require a LLC to have prepayment penalties on the loan structure) Borrower = Individual or Entity AL, AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY Borrower = Entity only GA, FL, IA, MT, RI, VA (1-4 Units) Prepayment Allowed Vested Entities Only IL, NJ

Participate in any online meetups as if you are a local4.

Look at some comps in the area, and you will get a good understanding of utility costs.In some markets, landlords bill back utilities to the resident.

For water we always keep that in the owner's name (since, in our area at least, water bills run with the house and not the customer).

@Ariana GraceOpen houses are a great source for first time buyers as they often don’t have a Realtor yet and are just looking.  

There is plenty of free info out there.Find someone doing it in your area and take them to lunch.

Did you try Facebook or Meetup groups in your area?

However, if it's your house, and it's in a good A/B area, and the rental comps have ceiling fans or other amenities that your house do not, your property might not attract the more qualified tenants.