Newbie question regarding out of state invest

[Tom Chen]

Hi BP's

New to the site and REI. Really amazed by the useful content in the forum.

I have been doing approximately a month research on REI now, including read through the posts/listen to the podcast etc...

Now I'm looking to buy my first rental properties.

I'm looking for an out of state "turn-key" property, I'm not looking for any exceptional or even great deals at the moment. (good is enough :))

I understand the ROI won't be that good for these kind of properties due to the fact that you put a lot burden on others and they'll defenitely make money out of it.

I'm expecting to start with these less involved investments and then dive deeper in future.

My current condition and expectation:

1.Approximate 80K cash in hand

2.Looking for SFR/Duplex under 300K

3.Expect cap rate 5%

4.Hopefully becoming an accredited investor soon (Making>200K about 1.5 year ago)

5.Out of state investing.

6.Understand  cash flow and appreciation usually contradict each other, so weigh more on cash flow instead of appreciation. target $250/month

7.only B+ neighborhood, current interested in NC,SC,MN, but open to all other states.

My questions:

1. I see platforms like roofstock,homeunion, rent to retire and those local Realtor company both provide some what kind of "turn key" properties. 

I see roofstock allows 3rd party inspection but not sure if all other companies/platform allow it? I'm assuming if a company/platform doesn't allow this, it would be a red flag right?

2. I assume if I'm buying properties from the TK company(not roofstock), they actually act like dual agent right? Or I can actually have a buyer agent represent me in this case?

3. If the TK company act as a dual agents,  any way I can hire a 3rd party experienced agent go through the inspection report together with me? How much does this usually cost?

4. If I can have my own buyer agent, what would be the best way to find someone local?

4. Any TK company recommendation?

Open to all kinds of feedback, thanks in advance.

[Zach Lemaster]

@Tom Chen

Welcome.  Lots of excellent information available to you through the BP forms.  I think your initial criteria is very realistic to achieve so it all comes down to choosing a market & local team that you fell comfortable & confident with.  Best piece of advice I can give you is to simply take action to get into that first rental once you do identify something that fits your goals.  Once you purchase that first rental property that is where the true education begins.  Feel free to reach out with any questions at any point in time.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references