Real Estate Agent · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2008 · 193 posts · 7 votes
Call me old fashion, but I need to be able to drive by my properties occasionally as well as have the ability to pound on the door for my rent when it is late.
I have had 2 customer calls this week from people out of state looking to buy investment property in Minneapolis. One in fact lives in California, has never been to Minnesota, but just decided it would be a good place to own.
Let's assume for a second that these people are legit. Does anyone else own rental property (other than time-shares or fully managed vacation properties) in other states? Tell me how you bought it. Tell me how you maintain and rent it. Why did you need/want to go to another state?
It can be done; however, the difficult part is building a network of reliable and trustworthy people in the area you want to invest in. I recently pruchased a property across the country and I never even saw it; as of now its doing great! If you have a reliable agent, property manager, and property inspector it can be done. Let me know if you have any more questions.
It works, but just like with anything else, it is not a get rich quick process. And as mentioned over and over, the key issue for sucessful out-of-state ownership is a Grade A+ property manager.
Of course after a month of flooding in the midwest where my properties are, it does make you really think about it ... I may be paying for it, but at least i'm not the one standing in the mud shoveling it ...
Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
18y
Couldn't agree more! I like your analogy as well.
With any business, large or small, you have the managers running it and the owners/CEO's managing the managers. It is no different in RE investing. You must, as the business owner, manage your PM, and other members of your team.