Need help with out of state

[Kristian Fernandez]

Hi, I am finally ready to get into real estate after making a lot of excuses for myself. I live in California where for me it would be next to impossible to purchase a rental property. So I was thinking about buying out of state. Would turn key properties be a good idea? I was looking into those since I don't know anyone in other states so I have no one on the ground somewhere more affordable for me. I was looking in the market place here and saw some in Cleveland, Ohio for pretty cheap(at least compared to here). Would it be smart for me to do that or wait until I can afford a house here. I am looking more for multi families.

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Kristian Fernandez:

Hi, I am finally ready to get into real estate after making a lot of excuses for myself. I live in California where for me it would be next to impossible to purchase a rental property. So I was thinking about buying out of state. Would turn key properties be a good idea? I was looking into those since I don't know anyone in other states so I have no one on the ground somewhere more affordable for me. I was looking in the market place here and saw some in Cleveland, Ohio for pretty cheap(at least compared to here). Would it be smart for me to do that or wait until I can afford a house here. I am looking more for multi families.

 Welcome to the site. If Cleveland is on your radar as a place to invest you'll want to give The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods a read. Tons of money has been made & lost investing out here. Make sure you know the types of neighborhoods you're getting yourself into because they vary widely. Some best practices to live by when investing in Cleveland or any out of state market for that matter are as follows.

• Don't buy in the roughest neighborhood in the urban core. Pick a solid B-Class suburban area. Perhaps a nice 1950's built bungalow.
• Always hire a 3rd party property inspector to give you an unbiased feel for the home. The reports are 40-90 pages long and go through the entire house in great detail.
• Get an appraisal. If your using financing the bank requires this. This is good. The bank isn't going to let you blow their money. They have more skin in the game then you do.
• Make sure you get clear title. If using a lender this is a non issue. They will make you do this. It's those maniacs that buy homes cash via quit claim deed off of craigslist that really get screwed.
• Make sure your property manager is a licensed real estate brokerage.
• Understand you can not eliminate all risk, only mitigate it. If you are risk adverse real estate, (especially out of state) is not for you.