I'd love to hear about your team, and your experience with managing from a distance.

If you're going to be investing long-distance, I'm a big fan of spending at least a few weeks in the place where you intend to invest and get to know the values for yourself.

I'm looking at this as a more "passive" investment because of distance so management, marketing, and the weekly turnover are all things I'll take into account.

plus the trouble of getting them a petty gift.keep your distance.

Even though I have a property manager, it is has been tough being long distance from these properties since I can't easily go see for myself what is going on.

I had reps that worked different areas for me.They put their sign in the yard, took the calls, got the e-mails..I got the applications, processed them, and my reps would meet the T/B to get earnest money, and also to close and receive the funds, then deposit into my account.To do it long distance like you are, I would suggest you look here on BP or possibly another forum etc. to find someone that can be your boots on the ground.You set up marketing for the properties, talk to the sellers (you don't want reps trying to explain the #'s etc. to a seller) get the properties under contract, then you hand the baton off to your rep down there.They get a sign in the yard, they take the calls, do the filtering on teh phone, and when appropriate, show the hosue.

Running a rehab from a distance is a very tough undertaking.Many will agree that rehabbing is very much a hands on business.The alternative is to find an experienced realtor willing to to help you with all the supervision.

I feel like I'm throwing away money when I could be putting it towards a solid purchase.As I consider what I can buy, it seems like I'm limited to "rough" parts of Newark and Jersey City, as they still provide a reasonable commute to Manhattan (where I work) and seem like my best shot at something affordable.My question is, would this be a prudent investment?

They remain a source of entertainment and knowledge during my long commute to my day job.I've been investing in real estate for a few years now, exclusively Buy and Hold.

It used to be that calling long distance was a problem because of the cost.