Hi all,
As Steve Mcknight suggests there are a lot of things to consider when you are on the otherside of the world….especially the point about quality of the management, this is a major concern to watch out for and I can only relate to Upstate NY as this is where I purchased my properties (and Richard take your point well done if it's worth $2m now – you have owned this for 25 years and you probably have a Social Security Number which means you are classed as a resident of the US) its different if you are doing this as non-resident starting out now.
Property managers are really a nightmare when it comes to communication ….I do know this as I had went through 5 within just 3 years.

It is very difficult to borrow as a "foreign alien" which is the term they use for non US resident ….Im' not saying it can't be done but it's even now extremely difficult for US residents borrowing ….I have just vendor financed one of my properties to a US resident because he could not get a loan because of the sub-prime lending disaster.
Property laws are very different to Australian laws and litigation is very high over there so you do need to set up a good structure for asset protection ….it's all in my eBook if you need to know more.

As I suggested previously my eBook is a great read if you are thinking about investing in the US Property Market, and as Richard Taylore suggested personal email access is an "absolute bargin" especially when you have someone that has done this as a "foreign alien" and knows the real facts! 

Best of Luck
Donna Cox
http://www.seekingfortuneinnewyorkstate.com