My plan is to refinance my house with a cash out option, I have a decent equity in my house.And use that money to buy my first investment property locally, I live in Houston.The dilemma is my current mortgage rate is 3%, and the refinance rate is 5%, and how good would be start this rental market investments in Houston, I also have the option to buy properties in Las Vegas (Family), but starting as a long-distance landlord might be difficult for a newbie.What are your thoughts or suggestion about this idea?

You can have a realtor run a search of recently rented properties and you can go through the pictures and description and get a pretty good idea of what you should have to be competitive.

Point #1 - foreigners can't own property - unless you're married to a nationalPoint #2 - you can own a condo - without being married to a nationalPoint #3 - you can Airbnb your condoPoint #4 - condos start around $38,000 upwards to $190K.I've toyed with the idea of offering a service to foreign investors as an American "with boots on the ground" to make sure their investment is properly setup. 

The idea of being able to grow wealth through real estate with no ceiling is what fascinates me.

I like this idea also depending on your personal situation.

@Patrick Vos, I don't think its a bad idea at all!

I don't think its a bad idea to get your feet wet with this deal (as long as you are comfortable with everything). 

Also I know I can drive for dollars but are there any other ways I can find properties or how can I get a good idea of what area I should even be driving to?

My only problem is I have no idea how to get in contact with the owners of theses properties.

Hi All, I just wanted to get some ideas on where I should be looking for a loan or hard money to purchase my first rental property.