Hello,

I live in Virginia Beach where it's not the easiest to find cash flowing properties (homes are expensive, rent is fairly low). I'm considering purchasing outside of Virginia but I currently have a fear of the unknown.

1) Having to find a broker, agent, property manager, etc.

2) Finding a location that I can confidently buy and rent. In VB, I know the neighborhoods, rental costs, etc. 

Has anyone dealt with this before/how did you get over it?

Thanks, 
Stephen

This is a book I am going to start reading next week.  I have the same questions too.  Best,

JW

https://www.biggerpockets.com/store/long-distance-real-estate-investing-ultimate

@Stephen Lynch   Most of my rentals are not where I live.  In my case the prices were higher there, but I eventually want to move there and needed to get into that market.

Start with places that you know-you have family there, you went there on holidays, went to school there, etc.

@Jeffrey R. White Thanks, I'm going to read this as well.

@Theresa Harris Gotcha, assuming you have a property manager to offload finding the tenants, collecting rent, coordinating repairs etc?

@Stephen Lynch   My mom lives in the area, but I get rent paid through etransfer or post dated cheques and I can deal with problems over the phone or email.

@Stephen Lynch . Fear always points you in the direction you need to go. Identify some markets you want to invest in, figure out criteria for those markets. Then call brokers, pm, contractors and build a list of people so you can feel more comfortable.

The Long-Distance Real Estate Investing book is what got me moving again after I had stagnated. It opened my eyes to possibilities, and because of taking action on what the book talks about, I have made relationships and partnerships that are proving fruitful. I went from no deals in 14 years to 3 deals in 3 months.

This all makes good sense. How did you find a particular area that made sense & agents within those areas?