It depends on profit margin
If the return is very high, why not hire a local person to manage
the property. I think commercial property will be easy to manage than residential, but commerical rate for 15 year is 11%-11.5% right now. It is very hard to find a deal can make profit on this kind of mortgage rate.
I am looking for the commercial investment opportunities in NC for more than a year already, but I still can't find anything worth to buy yet.