Out of state Investor

[N/A N/A]

I live in California and am thinking about investing in a fourplex in Utah? My fear is my responsiveness to the rental. I've been told to hire a property manager, however, they can suck up much of the profit. Those of you whove invested outside of your state, what has been your experiences?

[Bryan Casteel]

dkdk100,

It is very difficult to justify a property manager on any type of leased residential property (SFR, 2-Fam, 3-Fam or 4-Fam). The numbers just don't support the expense. Of course, if you live out-of-state you have to have someone watch the place.

One option you may consider is to ask the current tenants if they would be interested in buying the place within a couple of years. You could turn your lease into a lease/option and then tell the tenants that they have to take care of the property and fix anything that costs less than $500 to fix. You are still the owner and you will have to fix any big-ticket maintenance problem, but that rule will cut out 99% of the nuisance calls from a tenant and get the property out of your hair in a couple of years.