I'm trying to connect with others in the area to have some like minded people around me.

There are also a lot of people converting some of their units to vacation rentals, which further skews the numbers. 

You could also move into the Tampa property later on - although I would say this is a rare practice because people usually like to take advantage of the primary home loans if they are going to live in it (people usually live in, and then rent).

By the time I got out of it I lost quite a bit but I was happy to free myself of the aggravation of doing business with these people. 

Get to know the players, the people and the areas where to invest and not to invest.2.

The harder it is to do, the less people will do it.

Some days I am like this was 1000% worth it and others I am like how are people so comfortable with this!?

There are nefarious people in all of them that are looking to take advantage of OOS investors:(Typically, they try to sell you a Class C or D property, dressing it up to look like a Class A or B property.You don't really have to worry about that in the suburbs of Detroit, as most of the areas are Class A or B.The City of Detroit has 173 Neighborhoods, 104 of which we've classified as A, B, C or D. 

I'm guessing as you work with them, you can then decide if they are trustworthy or people you want to work with.

I'm worried for my people!