All Forum Posts by: Alex D.

Hey peter, I was looking at those area's myself. You should message me at your earliest convenience. 

Hey guys,

I'm very grateful for the time you took to write and it there was a ton of insight. I'm glad you guys have found some people in certain area's you are investing in. I've lived in a few areas around the states however they weren't the best neighborhoods growing up. In addition to the fact that the area around a lot of those neighborhoods are declining in value and a decreasing in population. They would be what many consider C / D neighborhoods. I'm glad I asked the question though because I actually didn't think of a ton of the negatives in regards to not really being on site or investing from a distance. I'm not worried about the challenge and am actively looking around, checking mls deals, craigslist, etc. I do appreciate the turn key offers but am looking to fully grasp the concept and go through the motions and actively learn. With turn key, I'm under the impression that I have no control over who the team of people I will be working with will be.

Outside of maybe previously knowing an area or finding someone in an area you can trust, what pointed you in the right direction so start looking in a certain state, city, neighborhood, etc? An example would be hearing that an area has shown that it provides strong returns due to a BP post or research?

@Carson Sweezy Thank you for the suggestion by the way! I actually do plan on heading up there. I know exactly which one you are referring to. I work a night schedule so sometimes I have a funky schedule but I'm excited to head up there. 

@Tripp Howell I actually have family where you are living! Thank you for your comment. I honestly wouldn't have considered sight un-seen offers myself if I was getting multiple offers. That's really great to know that so it allows me to expect it. Although I know I wouldn't do it, I'm pretty sure I'd act offended if they disregarded my offer lol.

Thanks again for the advice! I read all the comments multiple times while at work and jotted down a few things. It actually helped me formulate a small list and point me in the right direction. I'll be sure to start trying to network and see what I could come up with.

@Kevin Hunter Wow great tips! This is exactly what I needed to hear. I just moved to northern virginia so this is where i'll be picking up my first non owner. Those were really great suggestions! I actually haven't considered using the seller agent and you're completely right, it benefits them greatly. I'll shoot you a message. With regards to the new property you picked up, what made you look in that specific area or let you know to look around a specific area? 

@Leland BarrowThank you! I appreciate the tips and will look heavily into it. As far as occupancy, that's not a problem as I do fullfill the primary occupancy requirments which are typically a year. I've had two lenders and haven't see anything different. It's unfortunate i'm not in texas though, i've been told it's a really beautiful area. 

Wow. I didn't know that. I did my own research before asking and i've read it was possibly numerous times however that it's just hard to find a lender that would be willing to do it because of the risk. I don't mind "hard." However it would have been cool to see if someone has already went or knew how to go about that. Thanks!

I appreciate the time you took to write. I'm in northern virginia and lived in the area for a very short time. Less than half a year. I guess i'm looking around and see a ton of depreciating areas around the cost i'm looking for within driving distance. I figured out of state would be a little easier depending on the area. 100k to get your feet wet, versus 300-400k. 

Has anyone ever considered or tried buying an empty lot or a tear down and used their VA loan to construct a house to sell in a highly valued area?

These were great suggestions and welcome @Crystal Smith!

Hey BP!
I was just curious as to how many of you got started in regards out of state investing? How did you go about the process outside of an agent in that area? Did you make the offers through them or try to contact them with the offer directly? I imagine having them make 100 offers can get pretty hectic. It's something I'm seriously considering. I'm looking around the area constantly from craigslist, mls, news ads etc. It's actually pretty overwhelming. The issue i'm having is the areas that I have lived in or know extensively aren't areas i would invest in myself. Very high cost areas and low avg rent. Currently I'm looking around the northern virginia area as well.

Hello all!

This is long overdue and I do apologize but I did want to thank everyone for chiming in and allowing me a bit of your time! I honestly figured it would come down to the appraisal however I figured along the way I'd learn something that I could do to maybe work around that or try a different type of loan. I may look into a commercial loan but I do need to do a bit more research to find an area where I think i could have some success. The area i'm currently in, I'm not too confident about considering it's a bit more of a run down area so I may look towards virginia a little more.