Investing while overseas, due diligence, and analysis paralysis

[Michael Volek]

Hello everyone,

I've been studying real estate investing on and off for about 3 years now, since 2014. I've listened to almost every podcast, read dozens of books, scoured the forums and the internet, and I tell everyone what I want to do. I've put in so many hours on BP and google just searching and discovering. The BRRR strategy has always called out to me, and I figured if people can invest out of state, then I should be able to do it while living overseas in Abu Dhabi (I'm American). It's all I ever talk about. I have clear goals on what I want to do, and how I want to do it. I also understand my resources and options. Here's the problem: For every new thing I learn, I get this crippling feeling of being overwhelmed. Sometimes, it is so powerful, I get sick to my stomach, and I rediscover just how uneducated and naive I really am. It's the due diligence. Being overseas makes this part VERY intimidating. The legal part, the title searches, documents, contracts, the order of the process, and the importance of the timing--all of this makes me so incredibly hesitant to pull the trigger! I just bought the Book on Rental Investing in hopes I'll find some content to lay my worries to rest. I have been very hesitant to ask for help, because I feel like it's all here on BP! For the sake of being thorough, I humbly ask for any advice the BP community can give. Will you please, please help me?

Respectfully,

Michael Volek

(I can't post all of my contact info, since this is outside the marketplace, but I believe I can in a PM)

[Matthew Tringali]

@Michael Volek , ha ha, that's awesome!  We have had plenty of internationally located investors hire us as a part of their team and purchase properties without every coming back stateside.  I think I can only recall once where an someone from an international location came to visit and actually, funny enough, he ended up not investing.

Whether or not you feel the need to meet in person or even visit properties in person, I suppose is a personal preference.  The nice thing about rental property investments is that, for the most part, analyzing the numbers and making sure they work are more important than needing to see the property (assuming you have a team you can trust that is checking out the property for you).

You sound like you will be great at this though once you pull the trigger.