I think of the 10 roofs, 10 property tax bills, 10 insurance bills, and 10 different commutes to achieve that 10% vacancy, which to me = 10 times the headaches.

Check out the Bigger Pockets books on Long Distance Real Estate Investing, or the BRRRR book - tons of great info there. 

I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and finally purchase a property within 3 hours driving distance of where I live.

Have you considered long distance investing?

I sort of fell in love with real estate be listening to the BP podcast and have been using my 1 hour commute to learn as much as I can.

If you want to invest long distances, do you have friends or family that could help you?

Hi BP,New investor here from SoCal. I currently am closing on an investment property (duplex) in the Midwest, Illinois and at the same time closing on a house hack property in NorCal. Does anyone have a real estate at...

The prices down on the south coast are starting to rise to crazy levels with anticipation of the commuter rail project which may provide an appreciation factor to a mostly cash flow market.

@Kevin Janssen My initial plan was to completely forbid smoking in the building as well as a specified distance from outside the building (to prevent people from sticking their head out of the window or standing just outside their door) but I hadn't anticipated getting a property with tenants who've been allowed to smoke indoors for years. 

I usually don't add those numbers in, however I've not had to have work done at those distances before.