I would start but driving all around your city and checking out each area.

It worked out well for him, because he basically got a "turn key" house that he could "test drive" for a year before actually buying without much skin in the game on his end...

Why pay the carpenter $80 an hour to drive to the store... sometimes I have to make them haul back the split/wet boards if they aren't careful choosing though.Some of the other smaller hardware suppliers (Talbert is an example) give you a rebate at the end of the year or other prizes like airplane tickets, etc.  

Albany is good for me as it is 2-3 hours drive away and I have a friend whose house I stay at when I go up.  

I have an opportunity to purchase 7 mobile homes in my area (deep east Texas).

Crime stats can assist, but it is easy to see the direction a neighborhood is going from a quick drive through.  

There are numerous trails in the city and within a couple of hours drive are Lake of the Ozarks/Branson/Missouri River trails. 

They're my favorite part of the website and they allow you to learn while you drive !

If you do want to get an idea of price ranges within certain areas, you could use realtor.com or trulia.com and do drive-bys.

I know I can personally do better in the stock market or peer to peer lending with those rates.So I've been talking to a couple buddies out of state (OH, MN, ID, etc..) where the markets aren't as crazy as the greater Seattle area.And I have been baffled by how cheap the prices are and have run some calculations which provide a way better returnI'm under no illusion that I can ask the same rent prices they do here in the Seattle area, but am gathering an average from other rentals in the area.The problem is, that OH, MN, ID are not around the corner and driving over to check out the property to see if things are still alright is not an easy task.How have you dealt with buying property out of state?