Strategies for Buying Local, Sight Unseen

Strategies for Buying Local, Sight Unseen

Dayton, OH · Member since 2018 · 13 posts · 1 vote

Hi BP Fam! So I came across a nice little duplex in my area, a recent flip, decent rents at 1650, PP of 100K (nicest % I’ve seen in a while, considering the 1% rule). I immediately reached out to my agent asking to schedule (morning after it was listed), and was told they were entertaining two, and potentially a third offer by noon. Womp womp. As I was putting together a sight unseen offer, estimating expenses/vacancies %, I was informed they accepted another offer. Disappointing as it was...that was my first attempt at a sight unseen, that happened to be local. For local or long distance investors, do you have any strategies? It came to mind that your agent could request any documentation the owner has (rent roll/expense details/vacancy rate,etc.) to assist in decision making, but I assume some people may actually make offers only from pictures, purchase price, and rents. I’m curious as to anyone’s sight unseen analysis process, local or long distance.

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  • Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2016 · 180 posts · 161 votes
    7y

    If its a hot market you might have to make an offer before getting in to see it, which may sound scary, but if you have a good team its not a big deal. Remember, you will generally write an inspection contingency into the offer, so make sure you have an inspector that you trust lined up. If you are buying it 'as is' or distressed, make sure you have a gc you trust to walk through and give you an estimate and scope of work. Never buy a flip or rehab job without a scope of work.

    Are you focusing primarily on duplexes? You can always ask for documentation they they have, but chances are they wont have anything if its a smaller multifamily and they are self managing. Walking through wont really give you too much extra info either. The biggest thing you want to ask thats not common knowledge is the utility setup and what the landlord pays for. 

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