Buying Out Of Town

You may not like my advice, which is to forget the whole thing. It's clear from your note ("a formula for the rent") that you haven't had experience in being a landlord.The first thing you need to do is put in some time studying real estate investment.Your local librarian can help find the books you need, and you may want to look for courses given locally.Study everything you can find.The best advice I have for a rookie investor is to start with something small, and within a half-hour's drive of your own home.Buying across the country, particularly when you don't know what you're doing, is really asking for trouble. About looking up appreciation in different areas: as the mutual fund offerings say, "past performance is no guarantee of future success."Those areas that have seen skyrocketing prices are exactly the ones where some experts feel the bubble is about to burst.