OOS Rehab Advice Without a Trusted Team

[Jason Y.]

Hello All!

This is my first post so please go easy on me  ;-)

In the near future, I am looking to purchase an OOS property that would need some work done but I probably won't know anyone in the area.  Of course I plan on meeting with a Real Estate agent, contractor, and Property Manager before any of this happens but heres my question.

Would it be odd if I incentivized either the Real Estate agent or Property Manager to oversee the work done on the property after I purchase...to be my feet on the street?  If I were to purchase a property for around $50k and I expected to spend about $15k to $20k to fix up the property, I was thinking of offering something like $500 half way through the renovation and another $1000 at the end, as long as it was completed in a timely manner and up to the standard that was agreed upon.

For OOS investors, it seems like a lot of the worry happens during the Rehab portion if you don't have a trusted team.  Of course, building a team takes time and I was thinking this would be a good way to motivate someone to manage the project while building trust at the same time.  Thoughts?

[Ritch Bonisa]

@Jason Y. Keep in mind on this idea that a broker/agent won't have actual nuts and bolts construction knowledge and will be very limited in how they can help you get contractors to perform in the way you need.  In essence, this is a one shot deal, so they will have no control mechanisms. 

A PM would be your best bet, but still may lack construction knowledge.  Probably be fine with 10-15k type rehabs. They also may have better long term contractor relationships.