ADVICE NEEDED! I'm looking for advice from experienced investors who own and manage single-family rentals in states where they don't live. I currently live in Washington State and am considering purchasing rental properties in Alabama. The numbers look attractive, but I want to better understand the realities of owning property that is thousands of miles away. A few questions for those who have successfully done this: • Do you self-manage or use a property management company? • If you use a property manager, what do they charge (percentage of rent, leasing fees, maintenance markups, etc.)? • How do you handle repairs, turnovers, and emergencies? • What systems or software have been most helpful? • How often do you visit your properties? • What mistakes did you make early on that you'd avoid today? • Has long-distance investing been worth it for you financially and personally? I'd also appreciate recommendations for reputable property management companies, especially if anyone has experience investing in Alabama. My goal is to build a portfolio of cash-flowing SFRs, but I want to understand the operational side before pulling the trigger on my first out-of-state purchase. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and lessons learned.

Used to use property management, but wanted to try self managing this one. Picked tenants ourselves thru Zillow (included background and credit), asked the realtor we bought the house from to only show the house to people who applied and were actually good options. So 2 people saw the house (didn't waste his time) and then he let us borrow a lock box the tenants could use to get keys once we got security deposit and signed lease. We paid him a few bucks in cash but far less than PM would have charged to do the same job. we had a handy man run thru the property prior to renting and fix any random things, that was well worth the money. Having connections is a game changer. The heat wasn't working right one day, and I called my agent - who knew an HVAC guy who would run by and look. Easy fix, guy charged $100 cash for the call and all was well. if I had to call around for repairs it would suck. My best advice after doing this a few times on a small scale is find an investor friendly agent. Look on BP where you can find them in Alabama wherever you're looking! It's well worth it when they're investor friendly and have connections that'll help you out! Especially if they're young and wanna make a bit of extra money - they'll be a superstar for you. Half the headache is usually finding someone to help do the mundane little tasks.

I've spent 30 years managing single-family homes for out-of-state investors right here in Fort Worth, so I can tell you exactly how this works when it's done right. The most important thing you can do is find a PM who runs like an operator, not an order-taker... someone who handles vendor relationships, tenant communication, and every maintenance call without you picking up the phone. Ask any PM you're vetting two questions: do they mark up maintenance costs, and how do they communicate with you during a repair? A great PM charges you exactly what the vendor charges... no hidden margin added on top. If they're honest about that, you can usually trust everything else.

I'd absolutely plan on getting a managment company. Fees can run from 8% to 12% of collected rents, depending on how management intensive your particular property is. Often property management companies have their own crews that can handle routine repairs. Some charge you a percentage management fee to manage outside tradespeople, but nothing extra to use their own people. The pricing is usually competitive. Hiring a management company is not a passive activity. You must get on the portal and read those reports at least once a week. Be a partner with your management company. Everybody forgets things every now and then. If you see a tenant not yet paid, and it's past the default date, call the manager. Most management companies do not do monthly inspections. Some do. Be sure to ask about that. They key to not having large repairs at lease end is to catch the need for them early, determine if it is tenant fault or not, and if tenant fault, make them pay with the next month's rent. You'll get your money and the tenant will learn to modify its behavior because they will bear the economic consequences, not you.

@Beau Fields Hi Beau. This question gets asked a lot. If you have a high quality rental in a good area with a solid property manager, it's not that hard. The hard part is... getting a high quality rental in a good area with a solid property manager acquired and set up. Can you fly to Alabama, roll up your sleeves, meet some people, tour some properties and build a network that way? And if you can't do that... why would you be willing to buy an asset costing hundreds of thousands of dollars? Finally, I get nervous these days when anyone mentions "cash flow," because... there isn't any cash flow right now on LTRs. None. It's going to take 5-10 years to pay off your costs of acquisition and get a property stabilized. So if you're looking for immediate cash flow - I'd reconsider. Hope this helps. Happy to connect if it would be helpful.

Biggest challenges: 1) Finding COMPETENT service providers you can trust.SCAMMERS deliberately take advantage of your.INCOMPETENT ones mean well, but are clueless, so you still lose:( 2) UNDERSTAND the market.Too many newbies make tragic assumptions. They only believe what's on "paper" and fail to research REALITY. You’re ALWAYS better off investing locally, where it’s easier to: • Learn the market • Network to find deals • Network to find contractors • Be more hands-on • Driveby property to keep tabs on it • Network to find a decent Property Management Company (PMC) Next best location is somewhere else you lived, where you have an existing network of family & friends to help you as accomplish the above list as needed. If you invest OOS, your biggest challenge won't be finding properties to meet your goals on paper, it’ll be successfully building a knowledgeable & trustworthy local team. The biggest mistake we see OOS investors making in our market, over and over again, is not fully understanding Neighborhood/Property/Tenant Classes and how they impact your probability of success! They all run their ROI numbers assuming Class A results – when buying Class B, C & even D rentals. Then they’re shocked when their performance expectations aren't met😞 If you choose to invest OOS, and have little to no landlord experience, we highly recommend targeting Class B Neighborhoods/Properties/Tenants. If you target Class C, you better be prepared emotionally & financially for plenty of challenges. You can find Class B properties in the Midwest to BRRRR, but it will take more digging and YOU will need to understand how to analyze & identify them - because a lot of agents, wholesalers, PMCs, etc. will try to sell you Class C or D misrepresented as Class B: • Many of them don't know/care what Class the properties are, so they're incompetent. • Others know exactly what they are doing, so should be labeled as crooks! EITHER WAY YOU LOSE! Why is Property Class so important for investors to understand and apply in their investing strategies? Because the Property Class dictates the Class of the tenant pool that the property will attract. The Tenant Class greatly impacts rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants. Both Property Class and Tenant Class will affect what type of contractors, handymen and property management companies you should target and be willing to deal with a property. The Property Class will also impact the maintenance & renovations you do to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood/Market”. Why is that important? Well, if you buy & renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what Tenant Class will actually rent it? Or, if you put several Class D tenants in a Class A four-plex, what do you think will happen to the property? What do you think will happen if you rehab a Class D rental to Class A standards? So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met, and it may even be a financial disaster. We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance: • Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always. • Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always. • Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood/Market.” Key metrics for each Property Class: Class A Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years. Tenant Default: 0-5% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Section 8: Class A rents are too high and won’t be approved. Vacancies: 5-10%, depending on market conditions. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 3-5 years for positive cashflow, but you get highest relative rent & value appreciation. Class B Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 620-680, some blemishes, no convictions/evictions in last 5 years. Tenant Default: 5-10% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Vacancies: 10-15%, depending on market conditions. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, 1-3 years for positive cashflow, balanced amounts of relative rent & value appreciation. Section 8: Class B rents are usually too high for the Section 8 program. Class C Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 560-620, many blemishes, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 3 years. Verifying recent 2-years of rental history very important! Same for 2-years of job/income stability. Tenant Default: 10-20% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Section 8: Class C rents usually meet program requirements, proper screening still recommended. Vacancies: 10-20%, depending on market conditions and tenant screening. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Should cashflow immediately, at the lower end of relative rent & value appreciation. Class D Properties: Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores under 560, little to no good tradelines, lots of collections & chargeoffs, but should have no convictions/evictions in last 12 months. Verifying last 2-years of rental history and income/employment extremely important to find the “best of the worst”. Tenant Default: 20-30% probability of eviction or early lease termination. Section 8: Class D rents meet program requirements, often challenges to pass Section 8 inspection. Vacancies: 20%+, depending on market conditions and tenant screening. Cashflow vs Appreciation: Typically, all cashflow with little, maybe even negative, relative rent & value appreciation. Where did we get our FICO credit score information from? Check out this chart: FICO Score FICO Score Pct of Population Pct of Population Default Probability Default Probability 800 or more 800 or more 13.00% 13.00% 1.00% 1.00% 750-799 750-799 27.00% 27.00% 1.00% 1.00% 700-749 700-749 18.00% 18.00% 4.40% 4.40% 650-699 650-699 15.00% 15.00% 8.90% 8.90% 600-649 600-649 12.00% 12.00% 15.80% 15.80% 550-599 550-599 8.00% 8.00% 22.50% 22.50% 500-549 500-549 5.00% 5.00% 28.40% 28.40% Less than 499 Less than 499 2.00% 2.00% 41.00% 41.00% Source: Fair Isaac Company Make sure you understand the Class of properties you are looking at and the corresponding results to expect. For example, Metro Detroit has 132 cities and the City of Detroit 183 Neighborhoods, which we’re analyzing and classifying to make better investing decisions. Horror Stories from those that did NOT Understand What they were Buying: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1137397-baltimore-a-path-to-never-ending-pain https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/432/topics/1231840-sell-at-a-loss-or-rent-at-a-loss https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/840134-memphis-turnkey-tenant-turnover-costs

Remote investing has been my strategy for a long time (I started in 2003), and Alabama is one of the markets that keeps showing up for a reason. Here's what I'd tell you from experience. Property management is non-negotiable at this distance. Period. There's no version of self-managing from Washington State that works well. Budget 8-10% of collected rent monthly, plus a leasing fee when they place a tenant (half to a full month's rent, depending on the PM). The fee most people don't ask about: some PMs mark up contractor invoices for repairs, anywhere from 10-20%. Ask about it upfront before you run your numbers. One more thing on PM fees: find out if their management fee is based on collected rent or scheduled rent. Collected means they only get paid when you get paid. That's the one I prefer. On repairs, turnovers, and emergencies: your PM handles all of it, which is exactly why vetting your PM before you buy is more important than finding the right property. The property is secondary. The operator running it is primary. On systems: your PM's software portal gives you the visibility you need. What matters more is that you actually review the monthly reports, ask about any line item that looks off, and let your PM know you're paying attention. The PMs who know their landlords are watching tend to keep the books cleaner. That's managing your manager, and it's not a lot of work. It just requires consistency. Visit frequency: much less than most people expect. Once you've got the right team in place and the property is stabilized, you don't need to be on-site constantly. That's the whole point. Biggest early mistake? Not interviewing enough PMs before picking one. Most people spend more time analyzing the property than the person who's going to manage it. Talk to at least 3-5 in the market before you commit to anyone. One thing worth considering before you go all-in on SFRs: a duplex or triplex in the same Alabama market gives you multiple income streams from one loan, one insurance policy, one PM relationship. If one unit goes vacant, you still have income coming in. With a single-family, you're at 100% or 0%. That's a real difference in risk profile as you're building a portfolio. Just worth thinking about as you set your strategy. Alabama works. Build your team first, then find the property.

Hi Beau, You asked great questions! Self-manage or hire out. I use professional management, and I'd tell you to as well for a first out-of-state property, but with a caveat that matters more than the decision itself: hiring a property manager is not the same as handing it off. I keep final say on tenant approval even when the PM runs day-to-day operations. They handle the calls, the maintenance coordination, and the accounting. I decide who goes into my property. And even with full management, I still do my own advertising on the side, because I might be one of three hundred properties on their list and nobody cares about my vacancy like I do. A vacant month costs more than any marketing you'll ever pay for. What it costs. Management runs 8 to 12 percent of collected rent depending on the market and the property. But the management fee is the number people shop and the wrong number to shop on. Ask about the leasing fee, which is often half to a full month's rent, the renewal fee, the maintenance coordination markup, and whether they mark up vendor invoices. Ask them for a sample owner statement and have them walk you through every line. Then call five of them and listen for the contrast. You can't call one company, get all your answers, and decide that's the right one. Every answer any single one of them gives you is an opinion, so stack opinions until the truth is obvious. Repairs, turnovers, and emergencies. Three rules I hold to. The person doing the work is never the person verifying the work, because that arrangement pays somebody to tell you they did a good job. Everything gets documented on video with a date, especially turnovers, and I want before and after on any repair over $500ish dollars. And I don't pay in advance. Homeowners hand contractors 50 percent up front. I pay the day the work is verified complete, and vendors accept that far more easily than you'd expect when you tell them the money moves the same evening. On reserves, this is the question you actually asked and most people skip it. What I'd tell you regardless of the number is that a remote repair costs more than a local one, every time, because you're paying someone to drive out for something you'd have handled yourself in twenty minutes. Build that into the analysis before you buy rather than discovering it in month four. What you save in time, you will often spend in money. Systems. Your PM's portal is your system, and the discipline is reading it weekly rather than monthly. If a tenant hasn't paid past the default date, you call. Late fees need to be high enough that rent gets prioritized over everything else, and they need to be applied identically to every tenant, no exceptions, both for fair housing reasons and because softness trains people to pay you last. When I ran my own management company, my collections were terrible during what I call my jellyfish days. The day I committed to a strict policy regardless of circumstance, the whole thing changed. Tenants will only test you once. Once you have a good PM that you trust, you can review monthly. How often I visit. Rarely (if ever!), and it isn't required. The property I use as my anchor for this question was a duplex in Indianapolis. Asking price $35,000, I bought it at $29,750, put $60,000 into a full renovation across both sides, and finished in eight weeks. Post-refinance mortgage is $700 a month against $1,400 in rents, so $700 a month in cash flow and about $40,000 in equity created in eight weeks. I never touched that property. I never saw it in person. What I did instead was build the team, verify everything through people whose payment depended on verification, and manage from a distance on purpose.The few times I have seen one of my properties is because I was in that area for a completely different reason and decided to drive past it. Mistakes. The one that costs the most is trusting instead of verifying. Not because people are crooks, though some are, but because structure protects you and goodwill doesn't. Set it up so nobody gets paid until someone with no stake in the work confirms it's done. The second one is treating distance like the risk. Distance forces discipline. Proximity is what makes people sloppy, because when you can drive by, you skip controls you'd never skip from two thousand miles away. Worth it. For me, yes, and the reason isn't the cash flow. It's that once you can operate a property you've never stood in, your buy box is the entire country instead of whatever's within an hour of your house. And when you are not the one trying to do the day to day - you scale faster. One thing I'd add since you're building a portfolio rather than buying one property. Look at duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes alongside single families in Alabama. Same residential loan, same process, same management structure, and a vacancy costs you a quarter of your income instead of all of it. That difference shows up fast when you're operating from Washington. On specific Alabama management companies, I don't have a recommendation I'd stand behind and I won't hand you one I can't vouch for. Call ten and let the contrast tell you. What's your target purchase price range, and how many property managers have you interviewed so far?

This is so true - having a PM that treats your property as if they were the operator is absolute gold!

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Beau FieldsPoster

Wholesaler
AZ

Out of State Investing

Out-of-State Investing: How Do You Manage Rentals From Afar?

Beau FieldsPoster

Wholesaler
AZ

Posted June 19, 2026 10:59

ADVICE NEEDED!

I'm looking for advice from experienced investors who own and manage single-family rentals in states where they don't live.

I currently live in Washington State and am considering purchasing rental properties in Alabama. The numbers look attractive, but I want to better understand the realities of owning property that is thousands of miles away.

A few questions for those who have successfully done this:

Do you self-manage or use a property management company?
If you use a property manager, what do they charge (percentage of rent, leasing fees, maintenance markups, etc.)?
How do you handle repairs, turnovers, and emergencies?
What systems or software have been most helpful?
How often do you visit your properties?
What mistakes did you make early on that you'd avoid today?
Has long-distance investing been worth it for you financially and personally?

I'd also appreciate recommendations for reputable property management companies, especially if anyone has experience investing in Alabama.

My goal is to build a portfolio of cash-flowing SFRs, but I want to understand the operational side before pulling the trigger on my first out-of-state purchase.

Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and lessons learned.

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Nick Sansivero

Rental Property Investor

Nick Sansivero

Rental Property Investor

Replied June 19, 2026 17:11

I've done it twice, my main advice is to have a big reserve account for repairs. When you invest locally you can drive 20 mins and fix a simple thing like a doorknob. A handyman might charge $250 for something like that. Turnovers can kill cashflow too, if you need to paint a unit it could be thousands to hire someone, vs just the cost of the paint to do it yourself.

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