Out-of-State Investor building my Indy team (value-Add deals)

Michal — I think you’re looking at this the right way. For an out-of-state value-add investor, I’d put a lot more weight on judgment and execution than on whether an agent says they’re “investor-friendly.”

If I were interviewing agents in Indy, I’d want them to walk me through 2–3 recent investor deals they actually worked on:

• What was the purchase price?

• What did they think the rehab would cost?

• What did it actually cost?

• What rent or ARV did they underwrite?

• What changed after closing?

• And, most importantly, what would they do differently now?

That tells you a lot more than a list of neighborhoods or access to an “off-market pipeline.”

I’d also test the boots-on-the-ground piece before buying anything. Send them to a property. Ask for photos, video, their read on the block, obvious rehab concerns, nearby comps, and what would make them pass on the deal. You want somebody willing to tell you “don’t buy this one,” not somebody whose job mysteriously becomes finding a reason every property works.

The other thing I’d do is build the team around the transaction rather than trying to collect every professional upfront. A good agent should be able to introduce you to inspectors, contractors and property managers they’ve actually closed deals with, but I’d independently vet those people too.

And I wouldn’t make off-market access the deciding factor. Deal flow is useful. Reliable underwriting and local judgment are much harder to replace.

For a remote investor, I’d rather have an agent talk me out of two bad deals than sell me the first one.