How do you estimate repairs when buying out of state?

[Ali Kalaei]

I’m curious how out-of-state investors handle repair estimates before making an offer.

When you can’t walk the property yourself, are you mainly relying on inspection reports, agent photos/videos, contractor walkthroughs, property manager feedback, or other sources?

The part I'm trying to think through is how much uncertainty is too much. For example, if a local deal has a $40k–$55k rehab range, but an out-of-state deal feels more like $35k–$75k because you don't trust the inputs yet, do you still make the offer if the conservative MAO works? Or do you wait until a contractor physically walks it?

[Arman Ahmed]

Quote from @Ali Kalaei:

I’m curious how out-of-state investors handle repair estimates before making an offer.

When you can’t walk the property yourself, are you mainly relying on inspection reports, agent photos/videos, contractor walkthroughs, property manager feedback, or other sources?

The part I'm trying to think through is how much uncertainty is too much. For example, if a local deal has a $40k–$55k rehab range, but an out-of-state deal feels more like $35k–$75k because you don't trust the inputs yet, do you still make the offer if the conservative MAO works? Or do you wait until a contractor physically walks it?

Experienced out-of-state investors I know rely on multiple layers before committing, agent walkthrough videos, contractor opinions, inspection reports, PM feedback, and conservative underwriting altogether instead of trusting one source blindly. But honestly, if your rehab range is swinging from $35k to $75k, that usually means you still don’t have enough certainty yet unless the deal is so discounted that the worst-case scenario still works comfortably. The safer operators tend to make offers assuming the higher rehab number and only move forward once a contractor physically walks it during inspection. The deal matters, but the quality of your local team matters even more when you’re investing remotely.