Rental Property Investor · Gresham, OR · Member since 2018 · 36 posts · 19 votes
My wife and I want to buy another rental within the next 90 days! We are finding that the best deals out there are 2500 miles away from where we live. This makes us nervous. Do we find a deal that looks good on paper... make an offer... then if accepted fly out and take a look at it from there? What’s the best way to go about this? How do we know who the best people to work with are? I know this a very broad question. We just have no idea where to begin on a place so far away.
Matthew Powell alright so I have successfully done this in two different markets (Cleveland and Memphis) in the last year or so.
1. Network on BP to find agents, PMs contractors, lenders, etc. make sure they specialize in out of town investors
2. Get on an airplane and go visit and meet them
3. Look at properties, look at more properties and analyze
4. Buy something
5. Profit.
Now this is the simplified version but it’s basically what I did. Now also make sure you educate yourself first. At 12 posts you’re likely new, so read forums, blogs listen to podcasts. I listened to over 200 podcasts before my first rental
My first property was through a turnkey company and my second wasn’t. I think turnkey can be a good way to start but make sure they allow you the ability to do both (meaning they’ll manage properties that you don’t buy through them).
I like getting paid. Probably because all my places have mortgages on them. My rents are DUE on the 1st and LATE on 2nd. I can’t even remember my last late fee. It’s been years.
lol that's all i needed to hear @James Wise instead of giving me a hard time for no reason. Its there to protect your *** not to get out of the deal. 1000 deals you should know better.
@Alan Grobmeier I agree with you 100%. It’s bound to happen to not get paid. We have been fortunate that the two tenants we have from our duplex have paid us on time every month. When that day does come that someone doesn’t pay I will be sure to throw down Thor’s hammer. It’s important to set that expectation early. I don’t want to be put into a hole and not be able to get myself out.
My old man didn’t give me cookies every time I did something wrong as a child. He punished me so I wouldn’t do it again.
@James Wise Way to throw in the Scarlett Johansson reference! 😂 I will scratch out that “good deal” and replace it with a “slam dunk, hand over the Larry O’Brien trophy deal” 🤩
My first step on my long-distant deal was purchasing a plane ticket. It opened so many doors for me, as it gave me a much be understanding of the area and allowed me to find a realtor. It took a few months, but this realtor found me a great off the market deal. I flew out there again, walked it, worked with a local lender, and quickly made an offer. After the offer was accepted I found myself my other core two: a property manager and a contractor. With my team in place, I handle most decisions over the phone and internet and rarely travel there.
@James Wise Way to throw in the Scarlett Johansson reference! 😂 I will scratch out that “good deal” and replace it with a “slam dunk, hand over the Larry O’Brien trophy deal” 🤩
@Matthew Powell Hi, I am a little bit south of you in Eugene and I have been investing out of state since 2012. Started with a turnkey company that actually flew me out to look over their operations, etc. I can tell you, like others have said, that there is nothing that can replace that actual on the ground, face to face experience. It is essential element to properly vetting a market and team or team members in my view.
I think the most important thing is to visit the market, drive around, see for yourself the area you are considering for investment. Also once you are clear meet the team (especially property managers) in person. Ask all the possible questions to your property manager ( most important team member) because you will only be dealing with them once the property is purchased: questions that can be asked :
1) Who's doing what (org chart) ( how many portfolio managers, contractors, bookkeeping ) get to know the team.
2) How long have they been in the market?
3) How many properties do they have under management? and what's their current vacancy %
4) what's their average time to fill a vacancy?
5) late rent policy ?
6) do they have internet portal? how do they communicate with owners.
@Matthew Powell I suggest that you find a farm area where the deals are spend sometime in the local community, make contacts out there with local Real Estate Investors that can help you get the lay of the land like @Alex Price said In addition you may want to consider finding an Investor friendly Realtor there who will be a great resource for local professionals that can help you to manage, maintain and secure the property. Lastly Ive suggested this for clients before but if you live in an area that is expensive look for deals in places that are a bit more affordable where you already have established contact (if this is possible) relatives or college friends in other areas may be of great use to you as an absentee investor
@John Olson, just wondering, where did you buy? I’d think there would be enough good rentals around the Atl metroplex.
These days it's tough to find deals in Atlanta as the housing market is hotter than the sun. I found it frustrating competing in this environment, which is why I went out of state. In my long-distance deal, I bought five units in Sioux Falls, SD. The areas strong economy, rapid population growth, robust downtown, low rehab costs and inventory of deals made it an easy choice.
@Matthew Powell, Morris Invest is full of those types of deals. ;-) until it’s time for you get your rent check. My own exploration/study found that IF you could get a property for $60k in the Midwest AND rent it for $700, that the state tax man was gonna take $200-$300 a month in property taxes.
Add in that many are in war zones, your probability of getting paid decreases. And that’s before you go to eviction costs, remodel/re-ready the property, etc.
I don’t know of any location in the country where you can SAFELY get $600 a month on a $30k property. I’m thinking they are like unicorns. ;-)
🙂 if we flip it a bit ‘I don’t know of any location in the country where you can SAFELY get $600 a month on a $30k property. I’m thinking they are like unicorns. ;-)’ To 30k out of pocket.. then it’s possible and in good neighborhoods too like Tacoma WA
Be careful with your money. Flying out a day and trying to find a deal neve works unless you have a family friends living in that place. You do not want to ink a contract without knowing about the property/neighborhood. I live in SFlorida and my friends up north in Boston area bought couple of properties through me and have them rented. Since they know me they took liberty in buying properties here in SFL. You need to have trustworthy people managing the properties. You don't want to get big repair bills from unscrupulous people.
I live in Canby and our office is in Tualatin, let's grab a coffee and discuss. I've been investing out of state for several years and there's plenty of hurdles and hazards to be aware of.
@Matthew Powell Simply find people on the ground you can trust. I have sold about 400 properties to out of state clients, many of them have never been to the city, or let alone seen the property. 90% of my clients are from Ca, All the best .