AZ was an easier since i used to live there and am more familiar with the cities, geographical layout etc, but i have never been to AL before i started investing there. i think once you read David Greene's book, if you agree with him, you'll realize that it doesn't really matter if you live there or not, it all comes down to having a great team working for you, and with the internet, you can really do a lot of the knowledge understanding before making a trip out there to figure out that's where you want to invest in.

By "everything" I mean water, electricity, internet, cable/satellite TV, renters insurance and burglar alarm service.

If you’re selling your own home you probably are scheduling showing appointments yourself and want to be there rather than letting strangers poke around your property unsupervised.

It is kind of apt to bring it up here as I use a "generic" avatar expressly to NOT post my image on the Internet. 

My car is paid in cash, my rent and utilities are included on my paystub as part of my pay so only my phone bill and internet get reported as far as I know.

To end my point, I locked in a phone appointment with an apartment owner who is considering of selling his 8 unit for $2.5M.

Do you currently have electricity and internet access at your facility?

investor and have several rental properties here as well , got a tip from of my ex military  friend stationed in Lawton ,  this was about 9 months ago, looked on internet on homes available  and got a referral from my realtor for a local  Lawton real estate agent , of course did my homework  on businesses  / rental comps in area / crime /city plans for future / and rental population. 

Asking people on the internet is not going to help you in any way. 

I would love to hear strategies on finding off market deals in my local area while being thousands of miles away with very limited phone access (internet isn't an issue).