All Forum Posts by: Lucas Bernard

Hi @Lucas Bernard, I wouldn't worry too much about working up a list of questions beyond the basics, and I wouldn't spend tons of time on the websites you mentioned.  The trick with out of state investing is two-fold.  

First you have to learn the market.  This is hard enough when it's your hometown, and even more difficult when you can't readily visit properties to see what your money buys you in different neighborhoods.  The best way to tackle this is to connect with an investor-friendly agent in the market you are interested in.  Talk to them, explain your goals, criteria, etc., and ask them to send a few listings. When you see one that looks viable, ask them to do a virtual walkthrough.  Investor-friendly agents are used to working this way.  They'll also be able to get you data on properties that have sold in the area recently so you can comp out any properties that interest you.  They'll be able to help you understand rents in different neighborhoods and where to look for the property types you're targeting.  Eventually you might even take a trip to meet your agent and tour several properties over the course of a few days.

Second, you'll need to build out the rest of your team, preferably before you even make an offer.  David Greene wrote a book on long-distance investing which speaks to this in detail.  Basically, he recommends putting in the legwork upfront to build relationships with the supporting players you will need in order to be successful - local attorney, lender, contractor, property manager, etc.

Long-distance investing isn't easy, but if you're committed to it, the best thing to do is to start talking to people in the market you are targeting.

@Lucas Bernard can you fly there and spend a weekend looking at properties with an agent?

@Lucas Bernard great question! There will be a Fall session, however our topics aren't fully confirmed yet so I can't promise that you'll see these Bootcamp topics come around again! Hope that helps.

@Brandon Rush

Hi Brandon, thank you so much for your reply, it was very helpful! I will check out the BP rental property calculator. As you said, in an expensive market a negative cash on cash return would be possible but I will not let it drive me crazy. Even if its a negative cash flow, if I am losing less money than I would be otherwise paying rent, then to me it would be a good deal. 

I really like the idea of going to local investor meetups. I feel like there would be investors there with a range of experience levels, all of which I could learn from. I think my next post on the BP forum will be asking if there are any local investor meetups happening in my area. What you said about it being still too soon to find a local agent makes sense. My best bet at the moment would be finding one at the local investor meetups and then learning form them as I go. They could potentially even become my mentor-exciting!

Thank you again for your input and words of wisdom!