Hunting for out of state SFH rental property

[John Chung]

Hi all,

I need some guidance

I am looking to buy an out of state rental property (Single family) around Tucon AZ or approximately around there.  I live in California so the housing is too expensive at this time for me here.  I chose Arizona as I am hoping to retire there some day.  

Anyhow, I was looking around the $150k - 200k SFH marker...but if i use the 1% rule, i would need anywhere between $1,500 - $2,000 monthly rent (relatively speaking)...HOWEVER, when looking at rentometer.com, it always shows about 0.5% rent of the value of the homes i am pulling up. Does this mean the property is way over valued?

Since i am out of state investor (Calif) and not a ton of time to physically be there to do research, can anyone give me some pointers on how to find property deals to get me to the 1% mark? (other than turnkey)  

I have a full time 8-5pm job (often even more hours)...so its difficult to conduct business looking for a property during working hours (nor do i think its ethical to use work time for my personal business).  

Anyhow, I'm not afraid to put in after hours work to find my deals...but i would imagine it is difficult to do business with contacts during the evening...? I'm sure there is a way...but not sure where to start.  I dont have any friends or family there so can't ask anyone there to be my "boots on the ground".  

If you had similar experience, or have knowledge about this, your strategy would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks