I've honed in on the Kansas City, MO area (Blue Springs, Independence, Raytown) to purchase my first rental property (SFR/Duplex). Occupancy rates have been strong for years and I've been plugged in to a solid network of people (agent and local lender).

If anyone in BP land has advice or tips for me, that would be wonderful. I'll try to repay the favor and pay-it-forward. 

I'm pre-approved and actively seeking for a property where the numbers make sense. I'm trying to be realistic and aiming for 9% CoC.

Thanks! 

Originally posted by @Nic S. :

I've honed in on the Kansas City, MO area (Blue Springs, Independence, Raytown) to purchase my first rental property (SFR/Duplex). Occupancy rates have been strong for years and I've been plugged in to a solid network of people (agent and local lender).

If anyone in BP land has advice or tips for me, that would be wonderful. I'll try to repay the favor and pay-it-forward. 

I'm pre-approved and actively seeking for a property where the numbers make sense. I'm trying to be realistic and aiming for 9% CoC.

Thanks! 

Here are some best practices for you Nic. Do these & you'll reduce your risk & increase your chance at earning a nice ROI.

• 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.
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk adverse real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.

Thanks, @James Wise I like the 3rd party property inspector tip. Cheers!

@Nic S. Like @James Wise already said, my biggest piece of advice is to not buy in rough, urban core areas but based on the areas that you are looking at, that's not going to apply to you. All of those areas are good solid rental areas and Blue Springs is a more affluent, owner occupied areas. These areas will have both B and C class streets and neighborhoods. Decide what class you are comfortable with and then make sure the particular property fits that class. If you're buying an existing rental, ask to see the rent and maintenance history. Find out when the last tenant turn over was and what was done to make it rent ready again. And of course, get an inspection done. If you're buying turn key, ask for a scope of work on the rehab. I think you're setting your sites too low for CoC on these areas. You should be able to get in the range of 12-14%.

@Mike D'Arrigo thanks for the tips. Asking about when the last tenant turn over was and what was done to make it rent ready again makes a ton of sense and probably often looked over. 12%+ CoC would be amazing, I haven't seen anything YET yielding that return but maybe I'm not looking in the right places..

I'm also interested in the Blue Springs (or KCMO area in general).  I agree with you guys about getting a home inspection, but how can you do that when you're buying with cash or hard money?  Doesn't that eliminate the benefit of the quick timing?  Is it going to be possible to get good deals on properties and have conventional financing and timelines?  I thought that the only way to get good deals is by making those quick timeline offers.

Seems like the Blue Springs area and many others are tightening up, and more aggressive approaches are required.

Any guidance or thoughts on that idea.

a blast from the past! I'm closing on my 2nd KC property now - great to see the progress I've made in the last 9 months. @Derrick Lind cash offers reserve the same terms traditional financing does. I always get a 3rd party inspection and appraisal before closing. I use financing but I would require the same terms if I had cash. 

@Derrick Lind You can get a home inspection if your offer is cash. Even if you say your closing in ten days, you can get a inspector out to the house in 3 days or less. You would always write up your offer contingent to inspection. That way if you find out the basement and foundation are falling apart, you can get your earnest money deposit back.