Hi Bobby, I used to buy out of state but had too many problems. I also live in the bay area and was attracted to out of state properties because they are so much cheaper than here. The problem is that they don’t have the appreciation we are used to and I had problems with my property managers. An example is 3 foreclosures I bought in Tampa. I bought them sight unseen working with a realtor by phone and fax. Turned out one house, though on a hill, was in a flood zone and I had to pay an extra $1,200 a year for insurance. The other houses fell under the homestead act and my taxes were double what I predicted.
Since you are new to real estate investing why not start looking around central CA and the foothills (gold country). You can still get good deals and people from cities and coastal towns seem to be migrating to these areas. If you work with an out of town realtor my advice is to find a realtor who is also a real estate investor - that way they will understand what you are doing. Good luck.
Before anyone grills me, yes I did read the archives on this and found some good information. I am new to real estate investing and have found that if might be good for me to invest out of state (I live in the S.F. Bay area). I have learned that the tax assessors office has information that I could use, however, I have the obvious questions about how to actually buy an out of state property.
how do you view the property? (do you fly out there?) I understand Carleton Sheets qualify a property over the phone techniques so I know that this saves a lot of time.
I guess I’m just asking for advice from people who are currently investing out of state. Do you have partners that help you view these properties? Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Make your offer low enough on price and terms that if the seller is crazy enough to accept your outrageous offer then it’s worth your while to fly out and see it, and maybe the terms of the offer can help pay for your trip.
Part of that means having weasel clause(s) in the contract - such as ensure the contract is contingent on your satisfaction with a building inspection by someone you pick, or things like that. So that if you thought you stole a jewel but you fly out and see it’s a lemon you have a legimitate way out.
Also, interview, work with potential realtors and property managers in advance. Be very, very careful about property managers obviously, and I believe you really want the property management in place and ready to go before you get serious about doing any long-distance offers. If you can’t manage it yourself, then ensuring good property mgmt comes first, and only then do you think about buying.
Just my $0.02. Earl