New to investing- different state
I've read all the reads. I've searched all the search. I have obsessed on the obsess. I am paranoid to take the dive. All the what ifs. All the potential disasters. All the nail biting.
So tell me... what would you have told yourself your very first time buying out of state? What would you have done differently? Would you please feed me some knowledge and positive vibes?! I've got one toe in the water. I need to jump on in!
"Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no matter how slow" - PLATO
That said, the cost of procrastination can be much greater than the fear of failure, both emotionally and financially. From someone who is starting this journey later in life I wish you well and good luck.
Once we jumped in, our biggest regret is that we didn't start sooner.
Ask yourself this: What situation could come up, where you would have no idea what to do? For just about every situation you can think of, another investor has already gone through it and you can find an answer here, on Google, Facebook, etc.
And in the rare case you come upon a situation where you can't find the answer, your common sense and imagination will get you through it. I had a situation where our guest messaged me and said "We just got home from dinner, and there is a dead cat in your driveway." I had no idea what to do. Who do you call to pick up a dead cat at 9pm at night? Do you ask your guest to pick it up? I had no idea. I left some messages with our handyman and our cleaner, and our cleaner took care of it the next morning. Crisis over in a few text messages.
Hope that helps!
Mike
I'd suggest to create a team in the area you are looking to invest in, a property manager and/or project manager depending on the type of investing you are considering. Find a great general contractor you can trust for the rehabs and repairs. Find an agent locally that knows the market, someone that specializes in investment properties, and can find you the number of deals that you're looking for to grow your business.
From all of the "successful" investors I've met it seems like many have an ability to eliminate fear and take the plunge. We have a lot of out of state investors and what I can tell you is that if you find the right agent that knows investing. They will have the contacts to find you other people in that network to help you grow. That's what I've been providing for almost 2 years now. So find that one guy and keep going from there. Happy to help in any way I can.
Hi @Angela Jones!
First off - YOU'RE NOT ALONE! No matter what folks tell you - it's super scary to buy a property out of state! That being said, David Greene has an awesome analogy about driving down the road and your engine begins to smoke. If you're like most people you'll pull over and pop the hood right? Well unless you're a mechanic, you'll have NO idea what you're looking at, so it's better to call a mechanic whose job it is to look at engines. The same is true of real estate, you COULD buy something in your area, but simply by looking at a piece of property doesn't guarantee an understanding of it, and in fact you could trick yourself into seeing something that makes or breaks the deal (but is really an emotional decision like you LOVE the kitchen or don't love the "vibe" of the neighborhood, both things that don't SUPER matter for an investment property). Hope this helps and best of luck!
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