How "present" are remote investors?

Question

How often do people (mostly remote investors) do deals without ever physically visiting the property? What about doing light rehabbing? Or do you have "a guy" on the ground that you trust have a look at it first? Buying or rehabbing without ever really seeing seems risky and an easy way to get taken advantage of.  It seems like a trip to the see the property is worth the time and cost of travel prior to dropping money on it.  In what cases would doing a completely remote deal without physically seeing the property be ok and when would it not be ok? Any thoughts on this?

Jessica Swingle · Answer

I agree.

It's all about your team members. Who you know locally & who you trust. And, of course, your ability to analyze the deal.

Typically, I don't visit a property before making an offer because I have the tools and resources to analyze it (including estimating repair costs) remotely. That said, I have access to local data and a general understanding of neighborhoods, renovation trends and costs for my area. I would be much less confident analyzing or managing a deal outside my market without the help of reliable, trustworthy experts in those areas.

Chad Clanton · Answer

Hi Sebastian, I had essentially the same questions that you do now. We just closed on a first property in Texas (I live in Virginia), and purely addressing the question of "seeing" the property, I actually linked up with another BP member who has been incredibly helpful. He actually conducted a full house walkthrough with me via Facetime, Apple's video conferencing app. The same could be done through skype, etc. That said, it really is all about trust. This gentleman has been fantastic for the few weeks we've been in communication,  as has the GC he recommended, who I'm using now. They've both done a ton to keep me involved and helped walk me through one learning experience after another.

Check out the site in detail; I searched for the name of the markets I was looking at, then just started going through profiles and reached out when I found someone with similar goals. i can certainly say that I haven't regretted it once since. Our interaction just started out as good conversation, and I dare say we could be called friends at this point. There's no reason at all that simple, friendly conversation can't turn into something beneficial for both sides. Try it out, there's no telling how things can go. Sorry for the rambling response, getting close to go home/go to bed time. Best of luck!

Jacob A. · Answer

I'm going to give you the obvious answer because it's exactly what I'm doing right now.  I started a rehab about 2 and a half months ago.  At this point I show up once or twice a week because I trust my GC.  He calls me or texts me pictures and updates daily and any major decisions he runs by me first before he makes them himself.  As long as you have someone like that you trust, I see no reason why you couldn't do a remote rehab.  With that said, if you don't have someone you trust completely things could go south very VERY quickly.