Do you buy Site Unseen?

[Luke Jacobsma]

Hey guys, I am somewhat new to investing in Real Estate and I am looking to invest out of state(because Los Angeles is outside my price range). But I wanted to know how many of you buy properties without physically seeing or visiting the property. Obviously there are pictures and virtual tours, but I cant personally visit all these potential properties. How do you properly evaluate the condition of a property if buying out of state. I may need some tips on how to better analyze deals because I am ready buy something. Any and all tips are welcomed.

[Ali Boone]

I would only buy sight unseen under certain circumstances. I have bought out-of-state sight unseen on some of my properties, but when I did it I was already familiar with the turnkey companies I was buying from so I knew what to expect and I had my inspector confirm the condition and quality. But I went out to see the operations before I started buying and definitely before I bought sight unseen. Even with that, I do recommend always seeing the place you are buying first if you can. But all that is just with turnkeys though. If you are talking about buying off the MLS or something, I wouldn't buy sight unseen no matter what. I've seen too many 'amazing' listings that I went to check out and they were completely bunk. Either the properties themselves or the locations. Pictures can make anything look good, and even when I thought I was familiar with the exact location, I wasn't always.

What price range are you looking in? Have you identified any markets of interest yet?