@Kwan Suh there's some excellent feedback in this thread that you can use to move on and succeed--in fact, I'd suggest reading this thread a few times, because there are some valuable lessons here...
Here's some more feedback and suggestions for moving forward:
1. Good job keeping it real. Good on you for being honest with yourself about screwing up, and being willing to share it with others (we all screw up, but few of us are real with ourselves or others about it). It takes guts and maturity to recognize your mistakes, admit them to others, and ask others for help. And importantly, being real with yourself and others is the best way to learn from your mistakes, and become a better, smarter, stronger real estate investor (plus, others get to learn from your experience).
2. Avoid C's and D's. As others have mentioned, OOS investing is difficult enough, but it's EXPONENTIALLY more difficult in a C or D area. One of the main reasons is that C and D areas attract problems and problematic people (as you discovered), and very few property managers will put in the significant amount of work it takes to correctly manage a D property, because it's simply not worth the small amount of money they get from the property. Managing a D property is like taking on the worst job in the world, and getting paid almost nothing for it--so, understandably, PMs usually do not put in the effort required for these types of properties. Because of this, I'd suggest considering ditching this property, and looking for A and B properties instead (the lower cashflow of an A or B is absolutely worth the significantly easier management).
3. Keep it local. OOS investing is challenging (even with A and B properties). It is exponentially easier to learn the basics of REI if it's a property in your area. Because of this, I'd suggest trying to start with properties in your own area.
4. get some property management experience. Being a successful real estate investor usually requires understanding how to manage properties. Even if you have a PM, you still need to understand how to manage your properties--because you can't effectively manage your PM if you don't understand how to manage properties. Think of it this way: a person can't manage a law firm unless they have legal experience. A person can't coach a team to an NBA championship unless they have basketball experience. A person can't run a mechanic's shop without any mechanical experience ...and similarly, it's very difficult to manage a PM (or team of PMs) if you have no property management experience. Because of this, if you want to be a successful real estate investor, I suggest starting off with a strategy that gives you property management experience (ideally, managing your own property).
5. Stick with a strategy that matches your experience level. You're a beginner, but you tried to start off with an advanced strategy. Instead, you should start off with a beginner-appropriate strategy. OOS investing is known to be challenging, and OOS investing in C and D properties is known to be so challenging that even highly experienced real estate investors rarely attempt it (and the few who do often fail!). ...OOS C and D property investing is one of THE most challenging strategies, yet you tried it as a beginner! That's like trying to ski a double black diamond run the first time you put on skis, or trying to surf a fifty-foot wave the first time you get on a surf board--it's gonna end in disaster! So, don't beat yourself up too much--even experienced investors often fail at what you tried to do...but also, make sure you learn this valuable lesson: stick with the REI strategies that are appropriate for your level of experience--if you're a beginner, use a beginner-appropriate strategy. In particular, house hacking a single fam or small multifam is one of the best ways for people to get started in REI (and there are plenty of free resources available on this topic). Get some house hacks under your belt (which will teach you how to manage properties--which, as I said, is critical), and then if you want, move up to some of the more advanced strategies.
6. Keep the loss in perspective, and wear the scar with pride. As others have mentioned, it is not possible to succeed in REI without some big failures, and those of us who have been in REI for a while have suffered losses way more than $15k! In fact, you're not really much of a real estate investor until you've survived a few $10k, $20k, and even $50k+ punches to the gut! As James Brown sang: ya gotta pay the cost to be the boss. So, welcome to the club of real estate investors. Although you took an L on this one, at least you know you did something that everyone *talks* about doing, but which very few people have the cojónes to actually do--buying a rental property. Plus, you have some lessons here that are probably significantly more valuable than the cash you lost!
Good luck out there!
