Turnkey property for first-time international buyer

[Mustafa Nemat Ali]

Hi there - I'm a German citizen currently living and working remotely in Asia and would like to invest in US property. Not looking for any get-rich-quick schemes but rather modest rental yields and capital appreciation to achieve a decent ROI on the property. I would like to start off with a property under $100k which will be paid in full by me without any mortgages etc. Any suggestions on what locations/markets to look at? Any recommendations/suggestions for a turnkey company? Thanks in advance! Mustafa

[James Wise]

Quote from @Mustafa Nemat Ali:

Hi there - I'm a German citizen currently living and working remotely in Asia and would like to invest in US property. Not looking for any get-rich-quick schemes but rather modest rental yields and capital appreciation to achieve a decent ROI on the property. I would like to start off with a property under $100k which will be paid in full by me without any mortgages etc. Any suggestions on what locations/markets to look at? Any recommendations/suggestions for a turnkey company? Thanks in advance! Mustafa

Welcome aboard my man. Many markets available that will get you where you want to go. Cleveland is the one I work in and it's also very popular with long distance investors because it's uber cheap. So I figured you'd get some value out of reading The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods. I also have similar guides that you may want to look over for Kansas City, Missouri. & Birmingham, Alabama. Those market would also fall in line with what you are looking for.

In addition there are tons of other turnkey markets out there besides those listed above. Many of these markets are very well represented by sellers & turnkey operators here on BiggerPockets. In no particular order I have listed some of the most popular markets for out of state investors

• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Dayton, Ohio
• Toledo, Ohio
• Youngstown, Ohio
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Memphis, Tennessee
• Saint Louis, Missouri
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Detroit, Michigan
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Louisville, Kentucky
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Jackson, Mississippi

Each of these markets is popular with turnkey investors because of the low barrier to entry, high rental demand & high rent to price ratio. I recommend setting up keyword alerts for each area as they are discussed in the forums daily with advertisements posted in the BiggerPockets marketplace hourly.

One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or lose money in any market. Don't think that one particular out of state market will shoot you to success or abject failure. It's not really that complicated to buy out of state. It only becomes complicated when investors try to over complicate or over think everything. Whenever you are buying a property out of state you should do a few things to ensure it's as smooth as possible.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Google Clayton Morris and/or Morris Invest for a cautionary tale of what not to do when buying turnkey real estate
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk averse, real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.