On the contrary, we have had a great experience with remote working teams. We are a young startup, and we started out wanting to hire the best local folks (that is clearly preferred, if you can do that in a reasonable time). But that was taking a lot of time and/or money (both we couldn't afford to lose much of), and we started working with remote team-members on fixed-term assignments - they got us started quick. After working with them for several months, I can say they are contributions have been invaluable. I'd happily hire them as full-time remote workers. The key, of course, is to find people who are good with the extra communication that remote working typically needs.