I'd suggest reaching out to different brokers in the area for insight on which areas are appropriate, or, in the alternative, you could seek out a local partner that could assist in maintaining/managing the property.Also, check this guide out for a brief overview of neighborhoods:The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods

Alternately you send a copy of the monthly bill to the tennats to pay you.  

I have spent a few weeks on Realtor, AirBNB, and other sites trying to compare costs with the approximate rent I could expect nightly.With my conservative nature I was a bit hesitant to move forward with anything yet -- I am seeing a lot of condos in nice areas with amenities (saving me having to get a property with a pool) that are in the $150-$200k price range. 

And, in the end, all 3 partners will be affected and probably need to redo their personal returns.An alternative is to pretend that everything has been OK, trust the most recent K-1s and hope that the whole thing will go unnoticed, and the IRS will never ask you guys any questions, and neither will any of the partners.

Charlotte proper is getting a lot stiffer competition right now so I would suggest looking at alternative areas a little outside of the city.

When you go to sell those other ones look up a deferred sales trust-it’s not the same as a 1031 but it’s an alternative.

Alternatively, like everyone else said, you can always try to find a great deal first. 

It is human nature.  

Account ClosedThe alternative is to invest passively out of state.

So it is my personal opinion from personal experience, there are MUCH better leads to target other than absentee owner.Be careful just following others because they say it i the right thing to do.Consider this alternate logic.They have more than 1 house.